Defect engineering and spilt-over hydrogen in Pt/(WO3–TH2) for selective hydrogenation of CO bonds

Abstract

Defect engineering studies on heterogeneous catalysts are of great scientific significance for the CO activation and adsorption configuration modulation in CO bond-selective hydrogenation reactions. Herein, we report the selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde to cinnamyl alcohol over Pt catalysts supported on pre-reduced WO_x. The as-prepared Pt/(WO₃–300H₂) catalyst displays an excellent performance and gives 93.4% selectivity with 91.1% conversion at 100 °C. The pre-treatment of the support causes generation of defect sites (oxygen vacancies), which facilitates the reduction and dispersion of Pt and the formation of spilt-over H species. The cinnamaldehyde molecules are preferably adsorbed on the defect sites in the metal support interfacial area and then transform to cinnamyl alcohol with the assistance of spilt-over H. The present work provides useful knowledge for surface defect engineering of catalysts and the design of efficient catalytic materials for CO activation.