Molybdenum Nitride Nanocatalyst Derived from Melamine and Polyoxometalate‐based Hybrid for Oxidative Coupling of Amines to Imines with Air

Abstract Molybdenum nitride (Mo 2 N) is one of the most promising alternative catalysts for a wide range of Pt‐catalyzed catalytic applications but is seldom investigated in oxidative coupling of amines to imines. A Mo 2 N‐based nanocatalyst is successfully achieved by the hybridization of PMo 12 O 40 3− (PMo)‐paired ionic pyridine‐4‐carboxylic acid (PC) and melamine (Mel), followed by calcination in N 2 . Melamine acts as an outstanding carburization and nitridation reagent that can convert into carbon nitride, and meanwhile the released N element react with Mo species in PMo to form Mo 2 N. The obtained catalyst PC‐PMo‐Mel‐800 exhibits high activity and remarkable stability for the oxidative coupling of amines to imines under solvent‐free and atmospheric conditions. This is the first case of Mo 2 N‐catalyzed oxidative coupling reaction catalyst. The strategy reported herein for fabricating Mo 2 N may provide a significant and interesting approach to design more transition metal nitrides for wide catalytic applications.