Hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde over palladium nanoparticles supported on functionalized N doped solid carbon spheres

Abstract

Selective hydrogenation of the C=O bond, rather than the conjugated C=C bond, in cinnamaldehyde (CALD) is still an interesting challenge. Herein, Pd catalysts supported on solid carbon spheres (SCSs) and functionalized solid carbon spheres (fSCSs) were explored for the selective hydrogenation of CALD. The Pd/fSCSs catalyst (Pd wt.% 3.7) gave cinnamyl alcohol (CA) selectivity of 85% and CALD conversion of 99% (6 h at T = 60 °C), while the Pd/SCSs catalyst (Pd wt.% 3.6) gave 100% CALD conversion (4 h, 100% selectivity) towards 3-phenyl-1-propanol. The Pd/fSCSs catalyst unfortunately showed poor stability in repeat reactions.