MoIV3-Polyoxomolybdates with frustrated Lewis pairs for high-performance hydrogenation catalysis

Bifunctional catalysis of frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) is one of the most active frontier areas in catalytic hydrogenation. The first Mo IV -γ-Keggin-like cluster H 2 [(py 3 MOIV3) 2 MOVI7O 32 (OH) 4 ] (γ- 1 , py = pyridine), which contains unprecedented Mo IV –O–Mo VI O FLPs (POM-FLPs), was prepared in a high yield. The synergistic effect of the POM-FLPs accounts for the high efficiency in catalytic hydrogenation as exemplified by the excellent performance (yield > 99%) of γ- 1 as the heterogeneous catalyst in the hydrogenation reduction of nitroarenes to anilines with hydrazine hydrate under mild conditions, revealing the promising potential of such unique MOIV3–POMo VI FLP systems in catalytic hydrogenation.