Preparation of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Material from Monosodium Glutamate and Its Catalytic Performance

N-doped carbon materials (NCMs) are generally used as electrode materials, and seldom used as catalysts in chemical reaction. In this work, NCMs were prepared by high-temperature pyrolysis using monosodium glutamate as sources of both carbon and nitrogen, magnesium acetate as a porogen, and nickel hydroxide as a graphitization catalyst. The catalytic performance of NCMs was investigated in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) with potassium borohydride at 30 ºC. As metal-free catalysts, all of the NCMs can catalyze the reaction. The graphitization degree and N-doped amount of NCM have a great influence on the catalytic activity. The NCM annealed at 800 ºC has higher activity and stability. The reaction rate constant can reach 0.57 min-1, and the activation energy was about 36.4 kJ/mol. Copyright © 2019 BCREC Group. All rights reservedReceived: 19th March 2018; Revised: 16th August 2018; Accepted: 20th August 2018; Available online: 25th January 2019; Published regularly: April 2019How to Cite: Zhou, Y.M., Wang, X.H., Cai, K.Y., Wu, J.M., Wang, P., Song, M. (2019). Preparation of Nitrogen-Doped Graphene from Monosodium Glutamate and Its Catalytic Performance. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 14 (1): 28-34 (doi:10.9767/bcrec.14.1.2237.28-34)Permalink/DOI: https://doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.14.1.2237.28-34