Atomically dispersed Rh on hydroxyapatite as an effective catalyst for tandem hydroaminomethylation of olefins

Abstract Tandem hydroaminomethylation is an efficient and green route for one-pot synthesis of amines directly from olefins. Herein, heterogeneous hydroxyapatite (HAP) supported single-atom Rh catalyst was prepared and used for tandem hydroaminomethylation of olefins. Characterization techniques confirmed the atomic dispersion of Rh species on HAP. Up to 99% conversion of 1-hexene with high selectivity to the desired amines (93.2%) was obtained over 0.5Rh1/HAP catalyst. Mechanism study demonstrated that the first hydroformylation step during the tandem catalytic process was rate-determining. Compared with the Rh nanoparticles on other oxide supports (Mg3Al, MgO and Al2O3), the atomically dispersed Rh sites on HAP ensured the high hydroformylation activity, thereby guaranteed the outstanding catalytic performance for the total tandem process. Furthermore, various corresponding amines can be obtained with satisfactory yields over 0.5Rh1/HAP catalyst from a wide scope of olefins or amines substrates.