Shedding light on the reversible deactivation of carbon-supported single-atom catalysts in hydrogenation reaction

Carbon-supported single-atom catalysts were found to suffer reversible deactivation in catalytic hydrogenation, but the mechanism is still unclear. Herein, nitro compounds hydrogenation catalyzed by N-doped carbon-supported Co single atom (Co1/NC) was taken as a model to uncover the mechanism of the reversible deactivation phenomenon. Co1/NC exhibited moderate adsorption towards the substrate molecules (i.e., nitro compounds or related intermediates), which could be strengthened by the confinement effect from the porous structure. Consequently, substrate molecules tend to accumulate within the pore channel, especially micropores that host Co1, making it difficult for the reactants to access the active sites and finally leading to their deactivation. The situation could be even worse when the substrate molecules possess a large size. Nevertheless, the catalytic activity of Co1/NC could be restored via a simple thermal treatment, which could remove the adsorbates within the pore channel, hence releasing active sites that were originally inaccessible to reactants.