Solvent-assisted synthesis of N-doped activated carbon-based catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination.

• A melamine-formaldehyde-PVA coating-pyrolysis method was developed to prepare the N-doped activated carbon (N@CBC-FE). • N@CBC-FE presented the highest conversion of 75 % under 220 °C and 50 h−1 acetylene GHSV in 120 h. • N@CBC-FE showed excellent activity due to the polymeric network coating generated by formaldehyde, PVA and melamine. N-doped carbon-based materials have been regarded as promising alternative metal-free catalysts for the production of vinyl chloride monomer. In this work, N-doped carbon-based catalysts were synthesized via a melamine/formaldehyde/ polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) coating-pyrolysis method, and the performances of the resultant catalysts (N@CBC-FE) were investigated and compared with those of the control samples. The optimal N@CBC-FE catalyst presented the highest acetylene conversion of 75 % at 220 °C and an acetylene gas hourly space velocity of 50 h−1 in 120 h. N 2 sorption, Raman spectroscopy, attenuated total Reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and temperature-programmed desorption analysis results revealed that the excellent performance of N@CBC-FE was mainly attributed to the unique nitrogen intercalation pathway generated by the polymeric network coating, which was produced by the reactions among formaldehyde, PVA and melamine. Moreover, the abundant mesopores of N@CBC-FE facilitated the transfer of the reactants and retarded the deactivation process. This work is expected to provide new insights for the preparation of N-doped activated carbon-based catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]