Nickel ferrite decorated noble metal containing nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes as potential magnetic separable catalyst for dinitrotoluene hydrogenation

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 15156 - 12
• Main Authors: Hajdu, Viktória, Sikora, Emőke, Muránszky, Gábor, Kristály, Ferenc, Kaleta, Zoltán, Nagy, Miklós, Viskolcz, Béla, Fiser, Béla, Vanyorek, László
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 02.07.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/638; 639/638/549; 639/638/77; Atoms & subatomic particles; Carbon; Catalysts; Catalytic reactions; Chemistry; Dinitrotoluene; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydrogenation; Magnetic catalyst; Magnetic fields; multidisciplinary; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Nanotechnology; Nanotubes; Nickel; Nitrates; Nitrogen; Polymer industry; Polyurethane; Polyurethane precursor; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Toluenediamine; Polymer industry; Catalytic reactions; Toluenediamine; Magnetic catalyst; Polyurethane precursor
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-66066-1

The 2,4-toluenediamine (TDA) is one of the most important chemicals in the polyurethane industry, produced by the catalytic hydrogenation of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT). The development of novel catalysts that can be easily recovered from the reaction mixture is of paramount importance. In our work, a NiFe 2 O 4 /N-BCNT supported magnetic catalyst was prepared by a modified coprecipitation method. The catalyst support alone also showed activity in the synthesis of TDA. Platinum nanoparticles were deposited on the catalyst support surface by a fast, relatively simple, and efficient sonochemical method, resulting in a readily applicable catalytically active system. The prepared catalyst exhibited high activity in hydrogenation tests, which was proved by the exceptionally high DNT conversion (100% for 120 min at 333 K) and TDA yield (99%). Furthermore, the magnetic catalyst can be easily recovered from the reaction medium by the action of an external magnetic field, which can greatly reduce catalyst loss during separation.