Synergizing acid–base sites and lattice distortion of amorphous basic cobalt carbonate for transfer hydrogenation

Abstract

The amorphous basic cobalt carbonate synthesized via a facile precipitation method exhibits much higher activity (97.1% conversion and 98.0% selectivity) in cinnamaldehyde transfer hydrogenation compared to cobalt oxide catalysts, due to the high-density acid–base sites and lattice distortion. This work offers an effective catalyst design for transfer hydrogenation reactions.