Gold supported on mesostructured ceria as an efficient catalyst for the chemoselective hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds in neat water

Rapid and efficient selective hydrogenation of a range of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds to their corresponding allylic alcohols was achieved in neat water using gold supported on a mesostructured CeO2 matrix. Both the activity and chemoselectivity for the reduction of carbonyl compounds improved significantly on going from organic solvents to water for the reaction media. Results in the intermolecular competitive hydrogenation showed that the intrinsic higher rate for the Au-catalyzed aldehyde reduction in water was responsible for the high activity and chemoselectivity observed.