Nitrogen-doped cobalt nanoparticles loaded on porous supports were developed for ring-opening carbonylation
of propylene oxide. The catalysts were prepared by simply pyrolysis of Co(OAc)2/phenanthroline and supports.
As proved by XPS combined with XRD and TEM characterizations, a higher amount of available Co-N sites were
responsible for promoting the carbonylative activity. The selectivity of carbonylated products reached 93 %,
which is comparable to previously reported cobalt carbonyl catalysts. The novel type of carbonylative catalyst
also could be reused and revealed fine stability due to the continuous generation of active [Co(CO)4]− species
during reaction.