Mo2N nanobelts for dehydrogenation of aromatic alcohols

Mo2N nanobelts about 60 nm wide and 0.5-72 mu m long have been synthesized by reacting a belt-shaped alpha-MoO3 precursor with ammonia at 850 degrees C. The Mo2N nanobelts effectively and selectively catalyzed dehydrogenation of a variety of aromatic alcohols. The coordinatively unsaturated Mo sites on the surface of the Mo2N nanobelts might be the active species. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.