Platinum clusters anchored on sulfur-doped ordered mesoporous carbon for chemoselective hydrogenation of halogenated nitroarenes

[Display omitted] •Sulfur-doped ordered mesoporous carbon (SMC) with ordered channels was prepared.•Ultrafine Pt clusters were firmly anchored on the SMC by the interactions with sulfur atoms.•The hydrogenation of p-CNB by electron-rich Pt clusters exhibited excellent selectivity.•Pt/SMC catalyst can be easily recovered and reused without loss of activity. Chemoselective hydrogenation of unsaturated organic compounds is a significant research topic in the catalysis field. Herein, a sulfur-doped ordered mesoporous carbon (SMC) material was prepared to anchor ultrafine platinum (Pt) clusters for the chemoselective hydrogenation of halogenated nitroarenes. The confinement effect of the ordered pores and the strong metal-support interaction caused by Pt clusters and sulfur atoms, efficiently suppress the aggregation and regulate the electronic states of the ultrafine Pt clusters. Thus, the hydrogenation of parachloronitrobenzene (p-CNB) shows high selectivity catalyzed by the ultrafine Pt clusters with electron-rich states. Meanwhile, the catalytic performance of the hydrogenation reaction catalyzed by Pt/SMC is capable of being maintained after at least 5 cycles, and the catalytic universality can also be applied to different halogenated nitroarenes hydrogenation. Therefore, this study may promote the research into the construction of noble metal-based catalysts for chemoselective hydrogenation reactions in green and sustainable chemical processes.