Photocatalytic selective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes over oxygen vacancies enriched layered double hydroxide supported Co3O4 nanoparticles photocatalyst

The design of efficient photocatalyst for selective hydrogenation of α,β -unsaturated aldehydes to unsaturated alcohols is changeling. In this study, oxygen vacancy enriched MgAl-layered double hydroxide (MgAl-LDH) supported Co 3 O 4 nanoparticle photocatalysts are developed taking the advantage of the semi-memory effect of CoMgAl-LDH. Excellent photocatalytic performance was achieved with a 99 % cinnamaldehyde conversion and 98 % cinnamyl alcohol selectivity at 100 °C under visible light irradiation. The electron enriched Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles facilitated the activation of isopropanol to provide active H species under light irradiation. In situ DRIFTS and DFT calculation results suggest the oxygen vacancies of MgAl-LDH were beneficial to the terminal O adsorption of –C O group in cinnamaldehyde and ensure the high selectivity of cinnamyl alcohol. This study demonstrated a novel synthesis strategy of Co 3 O 4 nano-photocatalyst for the efficient selective hydrogenation under visible light irradiation.