Rapid formation of nitrogen-doped carbon foams by self-foaming as metal-free catalysts for selective oxidation of aromatic alkanes

Porous carbon materials have attracted considerable interest as metal-free catalysts. In this study, we report a nitrogen-doped and nanofiber-based porous carbon foam produced via an efficient and facile self-foaming approach and its subsequent pyrolysis; in this approach, carbon dioxide-rich ethanolamine serves as the foaming agent, N source and polymerization catalyst. Meanwhile resorcinol and formaldehyde are used as carbon sources. Carbon dioxide-rich ethanolamine plays a crucial role in the release of gas as well as initiating polymerization on the interfaces of bubbles, which directs the formation of polymer foam. The N-doped carbon foam can be a highly active metal-free heterogeneous catalyst to promote selective oxidation of the benzyl group to the corresponding phenone. In addition, the carbon foams are easily cast with different morphologies. Notably, the prepared carbon foam is fabricated as a monolithic reactor for the oxidation reaction, which also exhibits good catalytic performances in the scale-up experiment.