Carbon‐Based Materials as Catalysts/Supports in Solvent‐Free Organic Reactions

Abstract

Carbon-based materials play a dual role as catalysts or catalyst supports for chemical transformation reactions (oxidation, hydrogenation, reduction, and condensation, etc.), owing to their excellent physicochemical properties including large specific surface areas, high porosity, excellent electron conductivity, and relative chemical inertness. A wide variety of carbon-based materials have been used as supports for transition metals or other materials, since carbon can be chemically functionalized and/or decorated with metallic nanoparticles (NPs) to impart or improve novel catalytic activity. These carbon supports have shown their potential for the development of green and sustainable approaches to solvent-free heterogeneous catalysis that achieve major economic and environmental benefits since the targeted molecules can be prepared within short time and great energy efficiency. The future success of solvent-free reactions requires the design of cutting-edge environmentally friendly, energy-efficient, and cost-effective multifunctional catalysts, possibly derived from emerging nanostructured carbons such as graphene, carbon nanotube, and porous carbon nanomaterial, for the selective chemical processes. In this chapter, we provide a comprehensive overview of the different carbon-based materials that have been used as catalyst supports by discussing the synthetic strategies and their outstanding performances in solvent-free organic transformations.