Enhancing Metal–Support Interactions by Molybdenum Carbide: An Efficient Strategy toward the Chemoselective Hydrogenation of α,β‐Unsaturated Aldehydes

Metal–support interactions are desired to optimize the catalytic turnover on metals. Herein, the enhanced interactions by using a Mo 2 C nanowires support were utilized to modify the charge density of an Ir surface, accomplishing the selective hydrogenation of α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes on negatively charged Ir δ− species. The combined experimental and theoretical investigations showed that the Ir δ− species derive from the higher work function of Ir (vs. Mo 2 C) and the consequently electron transfer. In crotonaldehyde hydrogenation, Ir/Mo 2 C delivered a crotyl alcohol selectivity as high as 80 %, outperforming those of counterparts (<30 %) on silica. Moreover, such electronic metal–support interactions were also confirmed for Pt and Au, as compared with which, Ir/Mo 2 C was highlighted by its higher selectivity as well as the better activity. Additionally, the efficacy for various substrates further verified our Ir/Mo 2 C system to be competitive for chemoselective hydrogenation.