Palladium nanoparticles supported on mpg-C3N4 as active catalyst for semihydrogenation of phenylacetylene under mild conditions

Palladium nanoparticles supported on a mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride, Pd@mpg-C3N4, has been developed as an effective, heterogeneous catalyst for the liquid-phase semihydrogenation of phenylacetylene under mild conditions (303 K, atmospheric H2). A total conversion was achieved with high selectivity of styrene (higher than 94%) within 85 minutes. Moreover, the spent catalyst can be easily recovered by filtration and then reused nine times without apparent lose of selectivity. The generality of Pd@mpg-C3N4 catalyst for partial hydrogenation of alkynes was also checked for terminal and internal alkynes with similar performance. The Pd@mpg-C3N4 catalyst was proven to be of industrial interest.