Carbocatalysts, which are catalytically-active materials derived from carbon-rich sources, are attractive alternatives to metal-based analogs. Graphene oxide is a prototypical example and has been successfully employed in a broad range of synthetic transformations. However, its use is accompanied by a number of practical and fundamental drawbacks. For example, graphene oxide undergoes explosive decomposition when subjected to elevated temperatures or microwaves. We found that asphaltene oxide, an oxidized collection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are often discarded from petroleum refining processes, effectively overcomes the drawbacks of using graphene oxide in synthetic chemistry and constitutes a new class of carbocatalysts. Here we show that asphaltene oxide may be used to promote a broad range of transformations, including Claisen-Schmidt condensations, C–C cross-couplings, and Fischer indole syntheses, as well as chemical reactions which benefit from the use of microwave reactors.

碳催化剂是衍生自富碳来源的催化活性材料，是基于金属的类似物的有吸引力的替代物。氧化石墨烯是一个典型的例子，并已成功地用于广泛的合成转化中。然而，其使用伴随着许多实际和根本的缺点。例如，氧化石墨烯在高温或微波下会发生爆炸性分解。我们发现，沥青质氧化物是多环芳烃的一种氧化集合，通常从石油精炼过程中丢弃，它有效地克服了在合成化学中使用氧化石墨烯的缺点，并构成了一类新的碳催化剂。在这里，我们证明了沥青质氧化物可用于促进广泛的转化，