NiO–Ni/graphitic carbon nitride as a selective catalyst for transfer hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds using NaH₂PO₂ as a hydrogen source

The selective hydrogenation of a chemical functionality in the presence of other groups is an excellent strategy to avoid multiple synthetic steps. Earth abundant Ni metal supported on graphitic carbon nitride (NiO–Ni/GCN) has been explored as a mild catalyst for the selective reduction of carbonyl compounds. Sodium hypophosphite (NaH₂PO₂) is used as a hydrogen donor for transfer hydrogenation of aldehydes and ketones. In the presence of NaH₂PO₂the NiO nanoparticles are in-situ reduced to catalytically active Ni(0) catalyst. NiO–Ni/GCN catalyst has been characterized by various techniques such as PXRD, IR, SEM, TEM, XPS, and TGA etc. In addition, nickel is a cost-effective and earth abundant metal which makes Ni-GCN as a viable hydrogenation catalyst. In contrast to Pd-GCN and Ru-GCN the present catalyst does not lead to hydrodehalogenation of haloaryl compounds in the presence of a hydrogen donor. Moreover, the catalyst is recyclable and can run efficiently for the multiple cycles without significant loss of activity.