A Novel Gold-Catalyzed Chemoselective Reduction of α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes Using CO and H2O as the Hydrogen Source.

Chemoselective reduction of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in the presence of CO and H2O proceeds effectively over a ceria-supported gold catalyst system, providing a novel, efficient and clean approach to produce useful primary allyl alcohols with excellent activity and selectivity.