One-pot synthesis of LaFeO3@C composites for catalytic transfer hydrogenation reactions: Effects of carbon precursors

Carbon encapsulated LaFeO3 perovskite composites (LaFeO3@C) were synthesized by a one-pot method and the effects of carbohydrates as carbon precursor on the activity of LaFeO3@C for catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) reactions were investigated. The textural and surface properties (e.g., pore structure, surface acidity and basicity) of LaFeO3@C vary significantly with carbohydrates, which offer a facile route to tailor the sample by simply changing the carbon precursor. LaFeO3@C-M, using maltose as carbon precursor, shows the best catalyst for the CTH of furfural with isopropanol, with conversion and selectivity of 90.3 % and 94.3 %, respectively, owing to the surface La enrichment, rich oxygen functional groups / oxygen vacancy and matched surface acidity-basicity. This sample is also recyclable after post-treatment in N-2 atmosphere and can be applied to catalytic hydrogenation of various carbonyl compounds. The current one-step synthesis method provides an efficient way to design carbon-containing composite catalysts with controllable properties for catalytic applications.