A PtPdCoCuNi high-entropy alloy nanocatalyst for the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) with multiple elements in near-equiatomic proportions hold great promise in heterogeneous catalysis because of their exceptional physicochemical properties governed by synergy. Herein, we prepared PtPdCoCuNi HEA nanoparticles via a one-step colloid-based route and tested their catalytic performance for nitrobenzene hydrogenation to aniline. The SiO₂ supported PtPdCoCuNi displays 93.9% yield of aniline at 80 °C, which is 2.11 times that of PtPd/SiO₂. Even at room temperature, a 47.4% yield of aniline is attained with the PtPdCoCuNi/SiO₂ catalyst. DRIFTS experiments indicate formation of isolated Pt and Pd sites after alloying the transition metals and evidence a stronger interaction between the HEA catalyst and nitrobenzene. Both XPS data and DFT calculations disclose charge transfer to Pt and Pd species, which eventually enhance the interaction between nitrobenzene and the isolated metal sites and the hydrogenation activity as well. The experimental and theoretical results shed light on mechanistic understanding of the unique catalytic performance of the HEA nanocatalyst and pave a new avenue to realize the high catalytic performance of nitrobenzene hydrogenation over well-isolated noble metal sites with specific geometries.