Hydrodeoxygenation of sulfoxides into sulfides under mild conditions over a heterogeneous cobalt catalyst

In this study, Al2O3/nitrogen-doped carbon supported cobalt catalysts (Co–NC/Al2O3-T, where T represents the pyrolysis temperature) were successfully prepared by a one-step pyrolysis method and studied for the hydrodeoxygenation of sulfoxides into sulfides. The structure of the Co–NC/Al2O3-T catalysts was greatly affected by the pyrolysis temperature, and thus the pyrolysis temperature showed a great influence on the catalytic activity of the Co–NC/Al2O3-T catalysts. The Co–NC/Al2O3-500 catalyst demonstrated excellent catalytic performance for the hydrodeoxygenation of sulfoxides into sulfides with yields from 94% to 98% under mild conditions (80 °C and 10 bar H2), and the catalytic activity of Co–NC/Al2O3-500 was found to be comparable with that of reported noble metal catalysts. Both the support and the metallic cobalt nanoparticles crucially contributed to the excellent catalytic activity of the Co–NC/Al2O3-500 catalyst. More importantly, the Co–NC/Al2O3-500 catalyst showed a good stability after five runs.