Selective Photocatalytic Hydrogenation of α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes on Au/CuCo<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> Nanotubes under Visible-Light Irradiation
Guowen Hu, Zhipeng Huang, Chen‐Xia Hu, Zeqi Zhang, Ruitong Liu, Xiangyang Li, Lei Zhang, Qiang Wang, Hao‐Li Zhang
Abstract
Photocatalysis for selective organic transformations has received tremendous attention recently. However, how to achieve high selectivity in the photocatalysis of organic reaction remains a challenge. In this work, we reported new hierarchical Au/CuCo2O4 nanotubes for highly selective and efficient photocatalytic hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. The hierarchical Au/CuCo2O4 nanotubes consisting of CuCo2O4 nanosheets and Au nanoparticles were prepared by the spinning technique in combination with thermal treatment and photoreduction. The produced Au/CuCo2O4 nanotubes were tested as a visible-light-responsive catalyst for the selective hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-furandimethanol. At 20 °C, the catalyst exhibits a high turnover frequency (up to 2727.6 h–1) with nearly 100% selectivity and 93% conversion. Moreover, the Au/CuCo2O4 photocatalyst is highly stable under the reaction conditions and has a wide scope of substrates. The excellent performance of Au/CuCo2O4 can be ascribed to the synergistic effect of Au nanoparticles and semiconducting CuCo2O4 nanosheets, which achieve an efficient interband electron transition in the metal/semiconductor heterostructures. The unique Au/CuCo2O4 heterostructures presented in this work provide not only a green method for the hydrogenation reactions but also an effective way to boost light-induced organic synthesis.