The selective hydrogenation of nitroarenes and alkenes catalyzed by Pd@MOFs: The role of electronic interactions between Pd nanoparticles and MOFs on the reaction

[Display omitted] •Pd@MIL-125(Ti) with excellent catalytic performance on the selective hydrogenation.•The electronic interactions between Pd NPs and MOFs disclosed.•The relationship between electronic interactions and catalytic performance discussed. The electronic metal-support interactions that are well-known in metal-loaded metal oxides, are also disclosed in Pd@MOFs. According to the experimental and calculation results, the superior catalytic performance of Pd@MIL-125(Ti) is mainly attributed to the higher ratio of Pd0/Pd2+ and electronic density of Pd nanoparticles which are triggered by stronger Lewis base sites and less Lewis acid sites of MIL-125(Ti) respectively. Therefore, the Pd@MIL-125(Ti) catalyzed hydrogenation of nitroarenes and alkenes can be carried out in water using low Pd usage (0.12 mol%) with excellent selectivity under mild conditions (room temperature, 1 atm H2). Moreover, the aqueous catalytic system still stays in reactor by simple extraction, and can be reused without further treatment, thus resulting in low environmental factor.