NiPd Nanoparticles on Nanoporous Carbon Embedded in Graphitic Carbon Nitride for Transfer Hydrogenation and Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling Reactions

Doping heterogeneous atoms and tuning the electronic metal–support interactions (EMSI) are effective ways to modulate the catalytic performance of supported Pd nanocatalysts. Herein, we report a facile way of enhancing the catalytic efficiency of Pd atoms by alloying with excess Ni atoms and simultaneously immobilizing them in a nitrogen rich framework that was fabricated from graphitic carbon nitride and nitrogen-doped carbon (NiPd/g-C3N4–C). The immobilized Ni90Pd10 NPs on g-C3N4–C is found to be an excellent catalyst for hydride transfer and Csp2–Csp2 bond forming reactions, and the enhanced activity of the NiPd is attributed to electronic perturbations that modify the electronic states of the Pd and improve their catalytic properties due to the Ni alloying and EMSI, as evidenced by X-ray absorption spectroscopic analysis.