Recent advance in selective hydrogenation reaction catalyzed by biomass-derived non-noble metal nanocomposites

The green and sustainable synthesis of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals urgently demands a new generation of efficient and robust catalysts in diverse organic transformations. Owing to their unique features of ready availability, natural abundance and renewability, environmental friendliness, and low-cost, the development of catalytically active materials derived from biomass has attracted extensive attention in the field of organic synthesis over the past few years. In this review, we summarize major progress in design and preparation of efficient and robust non-noble metal catalysts derived from various biomass feedstocks for green and sustainable selective hydrogenation transformations, with a particular focus on catalytic hydrogenation of nitro compounds, unsaturated CC bonds, quinoline compounds, CO bonds and so on. Finally, the challenges remaining in this research area are discussed and feasible future research directions are proposed.