Titania-photocatalyzed transfer hydrogenation reactions with methanol as a hydrogen source: Enhanced catalytic performance by Pd-Pt alloy at ambient temperature

Abstract

Hydrogenation reactions are of great importance in scientific research and in industry productions. Herein, we designed a novel system to realize photocatalytic transfer hydrogenation by using solar light as the energy input and methanol as the hydrogen source. In this reaction, titania loaded with Pd-Pt bimetallic alloy nanocrystals as a cocatalyst exhibited photocatalytic performance that was remarkably superior to that exhibited by titania with Pd or Pt alone as the cocatalyst. This work has shed light on the rational design of multifunctional catalysts through selecting appropriate bimetallic alloys as efficient cocatalysts. Light up, as if you have a catalyst: Photocatalytic transfer hydrogenation is efficiently realized on Pd-Pt/TiO2 under mild reaction conditions with the use of light irradiation as the energy input and methanol as the hydrogen source at ambient temperature. The Pd-Pt alloy cocatalyst exhibits enhanced catalytic performance relative to that of the monometallic Pd or Pt component. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.