Palladated Nanocomposite of Halloysite–Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Prepared from a Novel Cyano-/Nitrile-Free Task Specific Ionic Liquid: An Efficient Catalyst for Hydrogenation

[Image: see text] A novel nitrile-/cyano-free ionic liquid was synthesized and carbonized under two different carbonization methods in the presence of ZnCl(2) as a catalyst to afford N-doped carbon materials. It was found that the carbonization condition could affect the nature and textural properties of the resulting carbon. In the following, ionic liquid-derived carbon was hybridized with naturally occurring halloysite nanotubes via two procedures, that is, hydrothermal treatment of halloysite and as-prepared carbon and carbonization of ionic liquid in the presence of halloysite. The two novel nanocomposites were then used for stabilizing Pd nanoparticles. Examining the structures and catalytic activities of the resulting catalysts for the hydrogenation of nitroarenes in aqueous media showed that the carbonization procedure and hybridization method could affect the structure and the catalytic activity of the catalysts and hydrothermal approach, in which the structure of halloysite is preserved, leading to the catalyst with superior catalytic activity.