Low-cost and efficient CuO NPs@N, B co-doped porous carbon synthesized from collaboration of two-star green materials: Bio-MOF and nanocellulose for reduction of nitroarene compounds

The combination of bio-MOFs and biopolymers offers promising sources for producing advanced carbon-based nanocatalysts. In this study, a series of CuO NPs immobilized on nitrogen and boron co-doped mesoporous carbon materials (CuO@NBmC) were successfully synthesized through the pyrolysis of Cu-bioMOFs/nanocellulose composite and H 3 BO 3 mixtures with different weight ratios under an N 2 atmosphere at 800 °C. Among the prepared catalysts, CuO@NBmC-2 exhibited the highest catalytic performance toward the selective reduction of various nitroaromatic compounds under mild reaction conditions. The enhanced catalytic activity can be attributed to the synergistic effects of accessible porous structure, uniform Cu dispersion, and heteroatom co-doping within the carbon framework. Under optimized conditions, a wide range of nitroarenes was efficiently converted into the corresponding aromatic amines using NaBH 4 as the reducing agent in water as a green reaction medium. In addition, the catalyst demonstrated good recyclability and maintained high catalytic efficiency after four consecutive runs. The use of inexpensive bio-derived precursors, facile synthesis procedure, aqueous reaction conditions, and non-noble Cu-based active species makes this catalytic system a promising candidate for sustainable and industrially relevant hydrogenation processes.