Development of efficient catalysts for selective hydrogenation through multi-site division

Heterogeneous hydrogenation with supported metal catalyst is one of the efficient methods for producing fine chemicals. Hydrogenation reactions for fine chemical production often use reactants with more than one unsaturated bond or involve cascade multiple-step reactions, facing the dilemma of activity and selectivity. The dual-site or multi-site catalysts have been employed to solve this dilemma, but the entanglement at different sites generally cannot improve selectivity without reducing activity. In this review, we will introduce recent progresses in the construction of dual-site supported metal catalysts with division of active site, which may break the tradeoff between activity and selectivity in selective hydrogenation considering that each active sites can be modulated separately without causing the property variation of other sites. In addition, such catalysts contribute to the basic understanding of their structure-activity relationship and provide a theoretical basis for the development of efficient hydrogenation catalysts for fine chemical production.