The heterogeneity of active sites is the main obstacle for selectivity control in heterogeneous catalysis.Single atom catalysts（SACs） with homogeneous isolated active sites are highly desired in chemoselective transformations. In this work, a Pd1/ZnO catalyst with single‐atom dispersion of Pd active sites was achieved by decreasing the Pd loading and reducing the sample at a relatively low temperature. The Pd1/ZnO SAC exhibited excellent catalytic performance in the chemoselective hydrogenation of acetylene with comparable chemoselectivity to that of PdZn intermetallic catalysts and a greatly enhanced utilization of Pd metal. Such unusual behaviors of the Pd1/ZnO SAC in acetylene semi‐hydrogenation were ascribed to the high‐valent single Pd active sites, which could promote electrostatic interactions with acetylene but restrain undesired ethylene hydrogenation via the spatial restrictions of σ‐chemical bonding toward ethylene.
Au and Au-containing bimetallic nanoparticles are promising catalysts for the green synthesis of fine chemicals. Here, we used a Au6Pd/resin catalyst for the aerobic C-C cross-coupling of primary and secondary alcohols to produce higher ketones under mild conditions. This is of importance to the construction of a C-C bond. Various substrates were used in the reaction system, and moderate to good yields were obtained. The catalysts can be reused at least five times without decrease of yield. The control experiment and XAFS characterization results showed that hydrogen au- to-transfer occurred on metallic Pd sites even under oxidative conditions. On alloying with Au, the Pd sites became resistant to oxidation and readily abstracted the β-H of the alcohols and transferred the hydride to the C=C bond in the reaction intermediate to give the saturated product.
