Anchoring Pt Single-Atom Sites on Vacancies of MgO(Al) Nanosheets as Bifunctional Catalysts to Accelerate Hydrogenation-Cyclization Cascade Reactions.

The direct hydrogenation of 2-nitroacylbenzene to 2,1-benzisoxazole presents a significant challenge in the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries. In this study, a defect engineering strategy is employed to create bifunctional single-atom catalysts (SACs) by anchoring Pt single atoms onto metal vacancies within MgO(Al) nanosheets. The resultant Pt/MgO(Al) SAC displays an exceptional catalytic activity and selectivity in the hydrogenation-cyclization of 2-nitroacylbenzene, achieving a 97.