Selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde catalyzed by ZnO-Fe2O3 mixed oxide supported gold nanocatalysts

Abstract

ZnO-Fe2O3 mixed oxides and supported gold nanocatalysts were prepared by using coprecipitation and deposition–precipitation methods, respectively. Cinnamaldehyde hydrogenation over various ZnO-Fe2O3 mixed oxides supported gold nanocatalysts have been investigated at 140◦C and a hydrogen pressure of 1.0 MPa. The molar ratio of Fe to Zn was found to greatly affect the selective hydrogenation catalytic activity of ZnO-Fe2O3 mixed oxide supported gold nanocatalysts. Among these supported gold nanocatalysts in this work, Au/Zn0.7Fe0.3Ox (Au loading of 1.74 wt %) exhibited the highest conversion of cinnamaldehyde and high selectivity to cinnamal alcohol. The excellent catalytic activity of Au/Zn0.7Fe0.3Ox was tightly associated with a large surface area, small gold nanoparticles, and good H2 dissociation ability at low temperature.