Hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde to hydrocinnamyl alcohol over carbon dots supported Pd-Ag bimetallic

C = C and C = O selective hydrogenation in aromatic compounds is a key capability of supported active metal catalysts, leading to numerous practical applications. Here, carbon dots (CDs) material was produced by microwave-assisted hydrothermal method, and used as the carrier and reducing agent to develop PdAg/CDs composite catalyst. PdAg/CDs fabricated by photochemical reduction with UV-light demonstrated high selectivity for hydrogenation of cinnamic aldehyde (CAL) into hydrocinnamic alcohol (HCOL). With PdAg/CDs, 100% of CAL conversion and 90.0% of selectivity to HCOL were obtained at 140 °C, 3 h and 1 MPa H 2 in water. The improved catalytic performance of the PdAg/CDs catalyst was mainly due to the formation of Pd-Ag alloy and synergetic effect between Pd and Ag.