Nickel nanoparticles embedded in N-doped carbon efficient selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde in aqueous phase

The selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde (CAL) to cinnamyl alcohol (COL) is challenging because the hydrogenation of C = C bonds is thermodynamically favored over that of the C = O group. In this work, Ni 3 /Fe@CN-x materials prepared by loading metal Ni onto carbon materials derived from Fe-ZIF were successfully used to selectively hydrogenate the C = O bond of cinnamaldehyde, while single metal Ni@CN-x materials derived from Ni-ZIF materials were successfully used to selectively hydrogenate the C = C bond in the side chain of CAL. Both catalysts shows admirable catalytic activity in the selective hydrogenation reaction of CAL. The reaction results show that the introduction of Ni species into Fe@CN-350 material significantly improved the conversion of CAL and the selectivity of COL, which is attributed to the synergistic effect of bimetallic Ni and Fe, and the excellent hydrogenation activity of metallic Ni. The Ni 3 /Fe@CN-350 catalytic system can achieved 94.3 % CAL conversion and 86.3 % COL selectivity, and the catalyst could be stably recycled 5 times. Under mild conditions (90 °C, 4 h), the single metal Ni@CN-600 catalytic system achieved 100 % CAL conversion and >99 % hydrocinnamaldehyde (HCAL) selectivity, and the catalyst could be stably recycled 10 times.