Abstract: Soybean stalk, as a renewable biomass resource with low cost and environmental friendliness, demonstrates significant potential for high-value utilization. Through sequential treatments including pre-carbonization, hydrothermal processing, activation, and carbonization, soybean stalks were converted into nitrogen-doped carbon materials SSC-X (X/℃, denoting the carbonization temperature). By controlling preparation conditions, we modulated the porous structure, specific surface area, defect sites, and nitrogen species configuration of SSC-X to optimize its catalytic performance in nitrobenzene hydrogenation. The SSC-800 catalyst exhibited 100 % nitrobenzene conversion and >99 % aniline selectivity within 0.75 h at 80 °C in cyclohexane solvent using hydrazine hydrate as reducing agent. Remarkably, the catalyst maintained excellent recyclability with over 99 % aniline yield after 8 cycles. This work achieves sustainable utilization of agricultural waste soybean stalks and provides a novel strategy for developing efficient, low-cost, and environmentally friendly biomass-derived carbon-based catalysts.

Key words: Biomass, Soybean stalks-derived carbon material, Nitrobenzene, Catalysis