Green Hydrogenation of C=C, C=O, and C=N Bonds in Water by Palladium-Tin Bimetallic Nanoparticles

The reduction of various functional groups under atmospheric H2 by Pd-Sn nanoparticles in water is reported. A broad set of C-C, C-O, and C-N multiple bonds were reduced using a catalyst loading of 0.56 mol % to give rise to a high yield of products up to 99 % and good tolerance with various substrates. Additionally, the bimetallic Pd-Sn system successively hydrogenated the olefinic double bond of alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds with selectivity up to 99 % demonstrating further its chemoselectivity. The catalyst is recyclable for up to five cycles with alpha-methyl styrene as the substrate. However, with functionalized alkenes such as acrylic acid, the recyclability was poor.