Palladium nanocatalysts encapsulated on porous silica @ magnetic carbon-coated cobalt nanoparticles for sustainable hydrogenations of nitroarenes, alkenes and alkynes

Palladium nanoparticles were impregnated on porous silica shell carbon-coated cobalt nanoparticles, resulting in a magnetically retrievable material that was evaluated in the catalytic hydrogenation of nitroarenes, alkenes and alkynes. The prepared material was characterized by HR-XRD, HR-TEM, elemental mapping EDX, ICP-OES and XPS analyses, revealing highly dispersed palladium nanoparticles within the porous platform that could account for the high activity observed. Mild reaction conditions, easy retrievability of the catalyst with the aid of an external magnet, recycling in four runs with a total leaching of 19 ppm (1.2 % of the initially employed Pd amount), and high stability makes this material attractive for sustainable and environmentally benign applications