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Updated: Oct 17, 2025

Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotube with Doped Co and N Atoms and its Catalytic Applications in Hydrogen Production
Published on: December 6, 2021
Commercial Cu2 Cr2 O5 Decorated with Iron Carbide Nanoparticles as a Multifunctional Catalyst for Magnetically
Hannah Kreissl1, Jing Jin1, Sheng-Hsiang Lin1,2
1Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, 45470, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.
Abstract:
Copper chromite is decorated with iron carbide nanoparticles, producing a magnetically activatable multifunctional catalytic system. This system (ICNPs@Cu2 Cr2 O5 ) can reduce aromatic ketones to aromatic alcohols when exposed to magnetic induction. Under magnetic excitation, the ICNPs generate locally confined hot spots, selectively activating the Cu2 Cr2 O5 surface while the global temperature remains low (≈80 °C). The catalyst selectively hydrogenates a scope of benzylic and non-benzylic ketones under mild conditions (3 bar H2 , heptane), while ICNPs@Cu2 Cr2 O5 or Cu2 Cr2 O5 are inactive when the same global temperature is adjusted by conventional heating. A flow reactor is presented that allows the use of magnetic induction for continuous-flow hydrogenation at elevated pressure. The excellent catalytic properties of ICNPs@Cu2 Cr2 O5 for the hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfuralacetone are conserved for at least 17 h on stream, demonstrating for the first time the application of a magnetically heated catalyst to a continuously operated hydrogenation reaction in the liquid phase.
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