Catalytic reductions of nitroaromatic compounds over heterogeneous catalysts with rhenium sub-nanostructures

Abstract Nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) are key contaminants of anthropogenic origin and pose a severe threat to human and animal lives. Although the catalytic activities of Re nanostructures (NSs) are significantly higher than those of other heterogeneous catalysts containing NSs, few studies have been reported on the application of Re-based nanocatalysts for NAC hydrogenation. Accordingly, herein, catalytic reductions of nitrobenzene (NB), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), 2-nitroaniline (2-NA), 4-nitroaniline (4-NA), and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (2,4,6-TNP) over new Re-based heterogeneous catalysts were proposed. The catalytic materials were designed to enable effective syntheses and stabilisation of particularly small Re structures over them. Accordingly, catalytic hydrogenations of NACs under mild conditions were significantly enhanced by Re sub-nanostructures (Re-sub-NSs). The highest pseudo-first-order rate constants for NB, 4-NP, 2-NA, 4-NA, and 2,4,6-TNP reductions over the catalyst acquired by stabilising Re using bis(3-aminopropyl)amine (BAPA), which led to Re-sub-NSs with Re concentrations of 16.7 wt%, were 0.210, 0.130, 0.100, 0.180, and 0.090 min−1, respectively.