Unsupported Nanoporous Gold Catalyst for Chemoselective Hydrogenation Reactions under Low Pressure: Effect of Residual Silver on the Reaction

For the first time, H-H dissociation on an unsupported nanoporous gold (AuNPore) surface is reported for chemoselective hydrogenation of C=C, C=C, C=N, and C=O bonds under mild conditions (8 atm H₂ pressure, 90 °C). Silver doping in AuNPore, which was inevitable for its preparation through a process of dealloying of Au-Ag alloy, exhibited a remarkable difference in catalytic activity between two catalysts, Au_>99Ag₁NPore and Au₉₀Ag₁₀NPore.The former was more active and the latter less active in H₂ hydrogenation, while the reverse tendency was observed for O₂ oxidation. This marked contrast between H₂ reduction and O₂ oxidation is discussed. Further, Au_>99Ag₁NPore showed a high chemoselectivity toward reduction of terminal alkynes in the presence of internal alkynes which was not achieved using supported gold nanoparticle catalysts and other previously known methods. Reductive amination, which has great significance in synthesis of amines due to its atom-economical nature, was also realized using Au_>99Ag₁NPore, and the Au_>99Ag₁NPore/H₂ system showed a preference for the reduction of aldehydes in the presence of imines. In addition to this high chemoselectivity, easy recovery and high reusability of AuNPore make it a promising heterogeneous catalyst for hydrogenation reactions.