Enhancing Metal–Support Interactions by Molybdenum Carbide: An Efficient Strategy toward the Chemoselective Hydrogenation of α,β‐Unsaturated Aldehydes

Abstract

Metal-support interactions are desired to optimize the catalytic turnover on metals. Herein, the enhanced interactions by using a Mo2C nanowires support were utilized to modify the charge density of an Ir surface, accomplishing the selective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes on negatively charged Ir(δ-) species. The combined experimental and theoretical investigations showed that the Ir(δ-) species derive from the higher work function of Ir (vs. Mo2C) and the consequently electron transfer. In crotonaldehyde hydrogenation, Ir/Mo2C delivered a crotyl alcohol selectivity as high as 80%, outperforming those of counterparts (<30%) on silica. Moreover, such electronic metal-support interactions were also confirmed for Pt and Au, as compared with which, Ir/Mo2C was highlighted by its higher selectivity as well as the better activity. Additionally, the efficacy for various substrates further verified our Ir/Mo2C system to be competitive for chemoselective hydrogenation.