Magnetically recoverable heterogeneous catalyst: Palladium nanocluster supported on hydroxyapatite-encapsulated gamma-Fe2O3 nanocrystallites for highly efficient dehalogenation with molecular hydrogen

The dechlorination of various organochlorides using atmospheric molecular hydrogen (H-2) can be efficiently catalysed by magnetically separable Pd nanoclusters supported on the surface of hydroxyapatite-encapsulated gamma-Fe2O3 (PdHAP-gamma-Fe2O3). For instance, dechlorination of chlorobenzene gave benzene with an excellent turnover frequency (TOF) of 2500 h(-1) in the presence of 1 atm of H-2. This PdHAP-gamma-Fe2O3 catalyst can be recovered briefly using an external magnetic field and reused at least three times without loss of its high catalytic activity.