Harnessing palladium-decorated g-C3N4 nanosheets for selective catalytic benzyl alcohol synthesis

The selective reduction of benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol (a pivotal model reaction for the low-temperature stabilization of bio-oil) was meticulously investigated. This study delved into the catalytic prowess of Pd-modified g-C3N4 nanosheets (PdxCN) within a liquid-phase environment, utilizing H2 as the reducing agent under benign conditions. A series of photocatalysts were synthesized by impregnating graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (NS-CN) with varying weight percent loadings of Pd nanoparticles. In the context of this selective hydrogenation, the catalytic activity of Pd2CN catalysts outshone that of pure NS-CN and other reference catalysts, exhibiting remarkable efficacy with benzyl alcohol yields nearing perfection at approximately 99%. Moreover, these catalysts demonstrated enduring catalytic reusability and reproducibility. The optimization of experimental parameters, encompassing weight percent loading of co-catalyst, catalyst quantity, temperature, and reaction duration, was systematically undertaken to achieve optimal benzyl alcohol yield.