In-situ synthesis of star-shaped Ni supported on WO3 nanoparticles for selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde

The chemo-selective hydrogenation of carbonyl bond of cinnamaldehyde to cinamyl alcohol with star-shaped nickel (Ni) supported tungsten oxide (WO3) catalyst was fabricated using a simple one pot synthesis approach. Nano-structured Ni particles were dispersed over WO3 nanoparticles by employing this surfactant-assisted synthesis method. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements were carried out to examine the chemical nature, morphology and surface area of the synthesized catalyst. By selective hydrogenation of the cinnamaldehyde, the synthesized nanostructured catalyst was highly effective for selective production of cinnamyl alcohol. Various reaction parameters were assessed with regard to substrate conversion, product yield, and selectivity towards the desired product, including temperature, time, catalyst loading, and pressure. The catalyst achieved >97% conversion and 84% selectivity for cinnamyl alcohol under optimized reaction conditions. Even after the fifth cycle of recycling performance, the catalyst was still effective for the conversion. The remarkable efficiency of the catalyst may be associated with the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) between metallic Ni and WO3 substrate.