Renewable Soybean Pulp Derived N‐Doped Carbon Materials for Efficient Chemoselective Hydrogenation of Halogenated Nitrobenzenes

Abstract The development of N‐doped catalysts from biomass remains an important objective of chemical research. In this study, a simple fabrication process for renewable N‐doped carbon (RNC, N content 6.5 wt%) is provided to take the inexpensive of soybean pulp for efficient chemoselective hydrogenation of halogenated nitrobenzenes. The RNC precursor was activated by KOH and carbonized at high temperatures; this resulted in dramatically increased specific surface area and accessible active sites. Natural N atoms in the carbon matrix provide out‐of‐domain charge and modulate the electronic property of RNC as a metal‐like structure. The obtained RNC material shows excellent catalytic activity in the catalytic hydrogenation of halogenated nitrobenzenes using N 2 H 4 ⋅H 2 O as the reducing agent under mild reaction conditions. The catalytic activity of RNC only slightly decrease after repeated reaction cycles.