Atmospheric hydrogenation of α, β-unsaturated ketones catalyzed by highly efficient and recyclable Pd nanocatalyst

Abstract A thermoregulated phase-transfer Pd nanocatalyst was explored firstly and shown to be highly efficient and recyclable in the atmospheric hydrogenation of α, β -unsaturated ketones. Under optimized reaction conditions, the conversion of chalcone and the selectivity of dihydrochalcone were 99% and 98%, respectively. The catalyst can be easily separated from the product and used directly for four times without evident loss in activity and selectivity. The turnover frequency (TOF) for the atmospheric hydrogenation of chalcone was 870 h −1 , which to the best of our knowledge was the highest value ever reported among transition metal nanocatalysts.