Effects of chemical modification of supports on properties of tertiary amino resin dispersed palladium catalysts for the hydrogenation of methyl acrylate

Abstract

Tertiary amino resins (TAR) were chemically modified by quaternization with methyl iodide. By this route six partly quaternized tertiary amino resins (PQTAR) with different I/N mole ratio were synthesized. Four different reducing agents, i.e., NaH, LiAlH4, CH3OH-NaOH and NaBH4, were tested for the preparation of palladium catalysts dispersed on TAR or PQTAR. The rate of hydrogenation of methyl acrylate and the amount of Pd leached from the catalysts during the hydrogenation reaction were found to be dependent not only on the type of reducing agent but also on the structure of polymer support. Both the rate of hydrogenation and the amount of Pd eluted closely relate to the I/N mole ratio of the polymer supports.