Nitrogen-doped Carbon-supported Metal Catalysts for Synthetic Organic Chemistry and Application to Continuous-flow Reactions

Continuous-flow synthesis using heterogeneous catalysts has attracted considerable attention as it enables safer, more productive, and highly reactive processes compared to batch methods. However, the development of easily separable and reusable heterogeneous catalysts has lagged behind that of homogeneous catalysts. Supported metal catalysts, such as those based on metal nanoparticles, hold promise as high-activity and long-lifetime heterogeneous catalysts due to their physical stability and ease of preparation. Nevertheless, the range of organic reactions achievable with these heterogeneous catalysts has been limited compared to those catalyzed by homogeneous catalysts. To address this, we focused on nitrogen-doped carbon (NDC) as a support, which can strongly coordinate with and activate metal species. NDC-supported metal catalysts, easily prepared by pyrolyzing nitrogen- and metal-containing precursors, have shown promise in catalyzing various reactions beyond simple redox processes, such as asymmetric catalysis and electrochemical synthesis. This paper highlights the development of NDC-supported metal catalysts for precise organic synthesis and their application in continuous-flow systems.