Selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde over reduced graphene oxide supported Pt catalyst

Highly dispersed platinum nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated on the surface of few-layered reduced graphene oxide (Pt/RGO) via direct ethylene glycol reduction of PtCl62- in aqueous solution. This well-defined Pt/RGO catalyst was highly selective and active for the hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde (CAL) to corresponding cinnamyl alcohol (COL) under mild conditions. It was found that the selectivity of COL remained 85.3% at 97.8% CAL conversion in ethanol. These results could be ascribed to the well dispersed Pt NPs on RGO sheets, well dispersion of Pt/RGO in ethanol and ethanol can inhibit the generation of acetals. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.