Nitrogen-doped porous carbon derived from bamboo shoot as solid base catalyst for knoevenagel condensation and transesterification reactions

Abstract

Highly porous nitrogen-doped carbons derived from bamboo shoots (BSNCs) were prepared through an in-situ synthesis method. The results showed that BSNCs had a large specific surface area, a relatively high nitrogen content and hierarchically porous structures. The catalytic properties of BSNCs were evaluated based on Knoevenagel condensation and transesterification reactions. Deprotonated BSNC-700 exhibited high efficiency for the model reactions as a solid base catalyst, and the superior sample deprotonated in tBuOK solution with a concentration of 0.1 increased the conversion rate from 16.1% to 76.0% for Knoevenagel condensation. The two reactions proceeded smoothly in the presence of deprotonated BSNC-700. The results also showed that the catalyst could be recycled for several times for Knoevenagel condensation. The results from this research will provide a guideline to develop bamboo shoot as a precursor to fabricate a superb solid base catalyst.