The synthesis of various commodity chemicals like cyclic urea, urethanes, and carbamates via effective utilization of CO2 has proved to be highly advantageous. Production of the chemicals mentioned above from CO2 requires a complicated catalyst design and stringent reaction conditions. A simple catalyst possessing suitable sites that can effectively adsorb and activate CO2 is required to synthesize these valuable chemicals. The catalyst should also have optimum acidity for amine adsorption to facilitate these reactions. This study demonstrates the synthesis of a highly efficient catalyst, Ce-BTC MOF-derived CeO2, for CO2 activation. Ce-BTC-MOF is synthesized and calcined to obtain Ce-BTC MOF-derived CeO2. The presence of various facets and the oxygen vacancy required for CO2 activation and adsorption is confirmed using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). CO2 adsorption efficiency is evaluated using the adsorption experiments. The acidity and basicity of the catalyst are evaluated using the temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) analysis. Cyclic urea is produced by the reaction of diamine and CO2 at low CO2 pressure, while the CO2 and amino alcohol reaction produce cyclic urethane. The reaction between CO2 and primary amine produces carbamate. The calcination of Ce-BTC MOF at 573 K generates a CeO2 catalyst, which offers an excellent activity for producing these chemicals. Ce-BTC MOF-derived CeO2 exhibits efficient recyclability and stability. The developed ecofriendly and robust catalyst will be of significant scientific interest because it can be industrially deployed in producing these commercial synthetic intermediates.

The catalytic transformation of the lignocellulosic biomass to different platform chemicals has paved the way to reduce global fossil fuel dependence. Biorefineries largely rely on utilizing acid catalysts and hydrogenation/oxidation...

2-Methylfuran obtained via the hydrogenation of furfural is an important biomass-derived liquid fuel. However, the large-scale production of 2-methylfuran from furfural requires cost-effective, active, and selective heterogeneous catalysts. Herein, we...

The insertion of CO produces useful chemicals such as urethanes, cyclic carbonates, and cyclic urea using CO2 or urea as a sacrificial source. Synthesis of these chemicals using CO2 as...

The development of an economical transition metalbased catalyst for photocatalytic carbon−carbon coupling reactions is aspiring. Herein, a Cu−Ce metal−organic framework (MOF) was synthesized and carbonized to produce bimetallic Cu 2 O−CeO 2 /C, which was utilized in the Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction. The defects and oxygen vacancies in the catalyst were characterized by Xray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, while the nature of Cu was characterized by H 2 -TPR analysis. The defectinduced MOF-derived Cu−Ce heterojunction created more oxygen vacancies (O V ) in CeO 2 , revealing the high photocatalytic activity. The Cu−Ce heterojunction (Cu 2 O−CeO 2 /C) formed a Cu(I)− phenylacetylide active complex and exhibited higher catalytic activity for the visible light-induced Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction. 25% Cu 2 O−CeO 2 /C offered 93.8% phenylacetylene conversion with a 94.2% Sonogashira product selectivity by using household light-emitting diodes. No discernible activity loss was observed from the recycling of the catalyst. Based on catalytic activity, control reactions, and physicochemical and optoelectronic characterization, the structure−activity relationship was established and a reaction mechanism was proposed. Replacement of the costly Pd metal-based catalyst with a cheap Cu 2 O−CeO 2 -based catalyst for the synthesis of commercially important compounds with a sustainable visible light-induced catalytic process will be highly attractive to chemists and industrialists.

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The hydrogenation of lignin-derived phenolics to produce valuable chemicals is a promising but challenging task. This study successfully demonstrates the use of sustainable transition metal-based catalysts to hydrogenate lignin-derived phenolics. A defect-induced oxygen vacancy containing H-NbO x prepared from commercial Nb2O5 was employed as a catalyst. H-NbO x exhibited higher oxygen vacancies (158.21 μmol/g) than commercial Nb2O5 (39.01 μmol/g), evaluated from O2-TPD. Upon supporting 10 wt % Ni, a Ni/NiO interface was formed over H-NbO x , which was intrinsically active for the hydrogenation of phenolics. 10Ni/H-NbO x exhibited a two-fold increase in activity than 10Ni/Nb2O5, achieving >99% eugenol conversion and affording ∼94% 4-propyl cyclohexanol selectivity, wherein ∼63% eugenol conversion and ∼73% 4-propyl cyclohexanol selectivity were obtained over 10Ni/Nb2O5. The Ni/NiO formation was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, HR-TEM, and H2-TPR analysis, while the oxygen vacancies were verified by Raman spectroscopy and O2-TPD analysis. The resulting interface enhanced the synergy between Ni and H-NbO x and facilitated hydrogen dissociation, confirmed by H2-TPD. Remarkably, 10Ni/H-NbO x maintained its catalytic activity for five tested cycles and demonstrated exceptional activity with various phenolics. Our findings highlight the potential of a sustainable transition metal catalyst for the hydrogenation of lignin-derived phenolic compounds, which could pave the path to producing valuable chemicals in an environmentally friendly manner.