A Strongly Coupled Ultrasmall Pt3Co Nanoparticle-Ultrathin Co(OH)2 Nanosheet Architecture Enhances Selective Hydrogenation of α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes

The selective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes to value-added α,β-unsaturated alcohols is a significant process in chemical industry, while the design of a catalyst with desirable activity, selectivity, and stability is challenging. Herein, we construct a sesame cake-like Pt3Co nanoparticles (NPs)@Co(OH)2 nanosheets (NSs) architecture with strongly coupled Pt3Co–Co(OH)2 interaction for efficient selective hydrogenation catalysis. The intimate interaction accompanied by highly dispersive ultrasmall Pt3Co NPs largely promotes the selective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes with cinnamaldehyde (CAL) conversion of 99.6% and selectivity of 91.3% to cinnamyl alcohol (COL) under mild conditions and high stability after 10 successive cycles. Significantly, the performance of Pt3Co [email protected](OH)2 can also be expanded to the selective hydrogenation of other α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) spectra demonstrate that the high electron cloud density of Pt via the electron transfer from Co(OH)2 to Pt suppresses C═C adsorption and activation and therefore enhances the selectivity of the C═O hydrogenation