Facile Synthesis of P25@Pd Core-Shell Catalyst with Ultrathin Pd Shell and Improved Catalytic Performance in Heterogeneous Enantioselective Hydrogenation of Acetophenone

Abstract

Heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenation is an ideal method for synthesizing important chiral compounds in pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Up to the present, supported noble-metal catalysts are most widely studied in heterogeneous enantioselective hydrogenations. However, it is found that the weak interactions existing on the surface of support may have negative effects on the enantioselectivity. Herein, a new category of TiO2 (Aeroxide® P25) supported Pd catalyst with ultrathin Pd shell was successfully prepared via a simple strategy based on the reduction of PdI carbonyl complex. Characterization results show that a well-dispersed ultrathin Pd shell with an average thickness of ~1.0 nm and a Pd loading of 36 wt.% was formed over the surface of P25 support. By excluding the negative weak interactions from the support, the P25@Pd core-shell catalyst with unique electronic properties of Pd exhibits higher activity and enantioselectivity than that of Pd/P25 catalyst prepared by the impregnation method and unsupported Pd black catalyst in the enantioselective hydrogenation of acetophenone.

Editorial: Special Issue Catalysis by Precious Metals, Past and Future

“…The secondary alkynol transformation rate increased due to the preferable ketone formation via double bond migration. Gao et al [3] carefully designed Pd heterogeneous asymmetric catalyst for the hydrogenation of acetophenone. This strategy allowed the authors to obtain a highly dispersed high-loading catalyst, resulting in an important increase in the enantioselectivity.…”