Highly dispersed Ni nanocatalysts supported by MOFs derived hierarchical N-doped porous carbon for hydrogenation of dicyclopentadiene.

N-doped carbon possesses the advantages of electronic modification and immobilization of metal nanoparticles. Hence, N-doped carbon-based metal catalysts have received extensive attention. This study prepared uniformly dispersed Ni nanoparticles (24.0 wt%) on porous N-doped carbon, which was fabricated via the high temperature pyrolysis of nitrogen-rich ZnNi MOFs with 1H-1,2,3-triazole as the ligand. The 1H-1,2,3-triazole as a high energy ligand could volatilize violently to form a N-doped macroporous carbon-based structure. Zn acted as a fence and prevented the accumulation of Ni during the pyrolysis of ZnNi MOFs. The synergistic effect from the abundant porous structure together with uniformly dispersed Ni nanoparticles proves the excellent catalytic activity toward the hydrogenation of dicyclopentadiene, showing 100% DCPD conversion and >99% THDCPD selectivity. Uniformly dispersed Ni nanocatalyst on porous N-doped carbon which was fabricated through increasing the pyrolysis temperature of ZnNi MOFs, shows enhanced catalytic activity toward the hydrogenation of DCPD. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]