Effective anchoring of silver nanoparticles onto N-doped carbon with enhanced catalytic performance for the hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate to methyl glycolate

Silver nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped activated carbon (Ag/AC-N) are demonstrated as promising catalysts for the chemoselective hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate to methyl glycolate. Characteristic studies by TPR, XPS, and Raman indicate that AC-N benefits the dispersion of silver nanoparticles due to the strong electronic interactions between nitrogen and silver species. The optimized Ag/AC-N catalyst shows intensified performance in terms of high activity and excellent stability. It is inferred that the co-existence of Ag-0 and Ag+ derived from the strong interactions of nitrogen with Ag species renders the superior catalytic performance of Ag/AC-N.