Igor S. Mashkovsky

Pd–Cu catalysts from acetate complexes in liquid-phase diphenylacetylene hydrogenation

Properties of Pd–Cu/Al2O3 catalysts prepared using PdCu(CH3CO2)4 acetate heteronuclear complexes as precursors in the liquid-phase diphenylacetylene (DPA) hydrogenation have been studied. It has been established that the reaction over the Pd–Cu/Al2O3 catalyst proceeds more selectively than over the commercial Lindlar catalyst; in addition, high activity is achieved at a substantially lower palladium content. The maximum selectivity of DPA hydrogenation is observed with the catalyst reduced in a hydrogen atmosphere without any intermediate calcination that can result in the destruction of the bimetallic acetate complex. FTIR spectroscopy data for adsorbed CO show that the high selectivity of hydrogenation is due to the formation of homogeneous Pd–Cu particles and to the absence of monometallic palladium particles. This can be explained by the retention of the initial complex structure at all of the catalyst preparation stages until the formation of bimetallic particles during hydrogenation.

Formation of supported intermetallic nanoparticles in the Pd–Zn/α-Al2O3 catalyst

The structure of the Pd–Zn/α-Al2O3 catalyst, which was prepared by a joint impregnation method, was studied. According to XRD analysis data, supported intermetallic Pd–Zn particles were formed in a temperature range of 200–600°C. At 600°C, the crystal lattice of substitutional solid solution based on Pd (FCC) was finally rearranged into the tetragonal lattice of Pd–Zn. A shift of the Pd3d5/2 line in the XPS spectrum indicated the formation of the Pd–Zn intermetallic compound.

Frontispiece: Selective Single-Site Pd−In Hydrogenation Catalyst for Production of Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Signals using Parahydrogen

Pd-In/Al2 O3 single-site catalyst was able to show high selectivity (up to 98 %) in the gas phase semihydrogenation of propyne. Formation of intermetallic Pd-In compound was studied by XPS during reduction of the catalyst. FTIR-CO spectroscopy confirmed single-site nature of the intermetallic Pd-In phase reduced at high temperature. Utilization of Pd-In/Al2 O3 in semihydrogenation of propyne with parahydrogen allowed to produce ≈3400-fold NMR signal enhancement for reaction product propene (polarization=9.3 %), demonstrating the large contribution of pairwise hydrogen addition route. Significant signal enhancement as well as the high catalytic activity of the Pd-In catalyst allowed to acquire 1 H MR images of flowing hyperpolarized propene gas selectively for protons in CH, CH2 and CH3 groups. This observation is unique and can be easily transferred to the development of a useful MRI technique for an in situ investigation of selective semihydrogenation in catalytic reactors.

Intermetallic Pd1–Zn1 nanoparticles in the selective liquid-phase hydrogenation of substituted alkynes

A comparative study of the catalytic characteristics of monometallic Pd/α-Al2O3 and bimetallic Pd–Zn/α-Al2O3catalysts in the liquid-phase hydrogenation of structurally different substituted alkynes (terminal and internal, symmetrical and asymmetrical) was carried out. It was established that an increase in the reduction temperature from 200 to 400 and 600°C led to a primary decrease in the activity of Pd–Zn/α-Al2O3 due to the formation and agglomeration of Pd1–Zn1 intermetallic nanoparticles. The Pd–Zn/α-Al2O3 catalyst containing Pd1–Zn1 nanoparticles exhibited increased selectivity to the target alkene formation, as compared with that of Pd/α-Al2O3. Furthermore, the use of the Pd–Zn/α-Al2O3 catalyst made it possible to more effectively perform the kinetic process control of hydrogenation because the rate of an undesirable complete hydrogenation stage decreased on this catalyst.

Highly selective catalysts for liquid-phase hydrogenation of substituted alkynes based on Pd—Cu bimetallic nanoparticles

Catalytic properties of Pd—Cu bimetallic catalysts supported on SiO2 and Al2O3 were studied in a model reaction of selective hydrogenation of diphenylacetylene. Application of PdCu2(AcO)6 heterobimetallic acetate complex as a precursor made it possible to obtain homogeneous Pd—Cu bimetallic nanoparticles. This result was supported by the data of IR spectroscopy of adsorbed CO. The Pd-Cu catalysts showed considerably higher selectivity than monometallic samples. Moreover, the introduction of copper decreases the hydrogenation rate of diphenylethylene (DPE) to diphenylethane. As a result, the maximum yield of the target product, DPE, increased from 78 to 93% in the presence of Pd—Cu catalysts.

Highly-Ordered PdIn Intermetallic Nanostructures Obtained from Heterobimetallic Acetate Complex: Formation and Catalytic Properties in Diphenylacetylene Hydrogenation

Formation of PdIn intermetallic nanoparticles supported on α-Al2O3 was investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and hydrogen temperature-programmed desorption (H2-TPD) methods. The metals were loaded as heterobimetallic Pd(μ-O2CMe)4In(O2CMe) complex to ensure intimate contact between Pd and In. Reduction in H2 at 200 °C resulted in Pd-rich PdIn alloy as evidenced by XRD and the disappearance of Pd hydride. A minor amount of Pd1In1 intermetallic phase appeared after reduction at 200 °C and its formation was accomplished at 400 °C. Neither monometallic Pd or in nor other intermetallic structures were found after reduction at 400–600 °C. Catalytic performance of Pd1In1/α-Al2O3 was studied in the selective liquid-phase diphenylacetylene (DPA) hydrogenation. It was found that the reaction rate of undesired alkene hydrogenation is strongly reduced on Pd1In1 nanoparticles enabling effective kinetic control of the hydrogenation, and the catalyst demonstrated excellent selectivity to alkene.

Hydroisomerization of cis -Stilbene into trans -Stilbene on Supported Heterogeneous Metal Catalysts (Rh, Pd, Pt, Ru, Ir/α-Al 2 O 3 )

The hydroisomerization of a cis-isomer to produce a trans-isomer on Rh, Pd, Pt, Ru, and Ir/α-Al2O3 catalysts is studied. It is shown that Rh and Ru catalysts on which the hydroisomerization reaction mostly takes place exhibit the most favorable characteristics, whereas on the other metals, the main route is the hydrogenation reaction. Rh/α-Al2O3 is the optimum catalyst, since it has much higher activity than Ru/α-Al2O3. It is found that the increased selectivity of the trans-isomer formation is facilitated by a decrease in the hydrogen pressure and by an increase in the substrate concentration. The maximum selectivity is achieved when the reaction is carried out in nonpolar n-hexane and toluene, whereas in the case of the more polar tetrahydrofuran (THF), dimethylformamide (DMFA), and methanol both the reaction rate and the selectivity of the trans-isomer formation decline.