Metal–organic framework-derived carbon coated Ni–In intermetallic compounds for in-situ selective hydrogenation of methyl palmitate to hexadecanol in aqueous phase using methanol as hydrogen donor

A series of Ni x In y -BTC metal organic frameworks (x/y denotes the Ni/In atomic ratio) were prepared through the solvothermal method, and then carbonized at 400–700 °C in a N 2 flow followed by the H 2 reduction at 550 °C to prepare carbon-coated Ni–In IMCs catalysts. It has been found that the H 2 reduction is favorable for the formation of Ni–In IMCs and the Ni–In IMCs phases in Ni x In y @C are determined by the Ni/In atomic ratio. Interestingly, a thin layer of carbon (~ 2 nm) coats the Ni–In IMC particles. NiIn 3 C 0.5 IMC forms in Ni 2 In 1 @C, and its crystallite size increases with carbonization temperature. In addition, raising the carbonization temperature promotes the degree of graphitization. In in-situ aqueous phase selective hydrogenation of methyl palmitate to hexadecanol using methanol as hydrogen donor, all the NiIn 3 C 0.5 IMC, NiIn IMC and Ni 2 In 3 IMC dominatingly give hexadecanol, however, Ni 2 In 3 IMC is hydrothermally unstable. Therein, Ni 2 In 1 @C carbonized at 600 °C (i.e., Ni 2 In 1 @C-600/550) exhibits the best performance with the hexadecanol yield of 90.3%, and the hexadecanol yield maintains ~ 90% during 5 times recycling. Such high activity and stability are ascribed to stable NiIn 3 C 0.5 IMC phase, thin carbon layer and suitable degree of graphitization in Ni 2 In 1 @C-600/550.