Mesoporous α-AlO-supported PdCu bimetallic nanoparticle catalyst for the selective semi-hydrogenation of alkynes.

The selective hydrogenation of alkynes to alkenes is widely applied in the chemical industry; nevertheless, achieving highly selective hydrogenation with high catalytic activity is considerably challenging. Herein, ultrafine PdCu bimetallic nanoparticles encapsulated by high-surface-area mesoporous α-AlO were prepared by high-temperature calcination-reduction using a porous organic framework (POF) as the template. As-obtained PdCu@α-AlO exhibited a high selectivity of 95% for the semi-hydrogenation of phenylacetylene as a probe reaction under mild reaction conditions.