Size sensitivity of supported Ni nanoparticles on carbon for the synthesis of secondary amines from acceptorless dehydrogenation-hydrogenation of primary amines

Earth-abundant metal catalysts, especially Ni, are highly favourable in heterogeneous reactions com-pared with noble metal ones. Herein, Ni nanoparticle catalysts supported on Vulcan carbon (VCX) support were prepared through a simple impregnation-reduction method and utilized for the acceptorless dehy-drogenation of primary amines to secondary amines. The best performance was achieved with Ni(A)/VXC with Ni particle size of 11.9 nm at 150 degrees C. Smaller or larger particle sizes resulted in a lower TOF, indi-cating a structure-sensitive activity. This work may serve as inspiration for further investigation into acceptorless dehydrogenation using non-noble metal catalysts.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Ni nanoparticle catalysts supported on Vulcan carbon (VCX) were prepared and used for the acceptorless dehydrogenation of primary amines to secondary amines. The best performance was achieved with Ni(A)/VXC with Ni particle size of 11.9 nm at 150 degrees C. This work provides inspiration for further investigation into acceptorless dehydrogenation using non-noble metal catalysts.