Liquid-Phase Hydrogenation of Internal and Terminal Alkynes on Pd–Ag/Al2O3 Catalyst

Abstract

The structure and catalytic properties of a bimetallic Pd–Ag/α-Al2O3 catalyst are studied in the liquid-phase hydrogenation of substituted internal and terminal alkynes using diphenylacetylene, phenylacetylene, 1-phenyl-1-propyne, and 1-phenyl-1-butyne as sample alkynes. IR spectroscopy of adsorbed CO, X‑ray diffraction (XRD), and electron microscopy were used to show that the active sites on the Pd–Ag nanoparticle surface are Pd1 sites. The synthesized Pd–Ag/α-Al2O3 catalyst shows a much higher selectivity in the hydrogenation of internal symmetric and asymmetric alkynes compared to the monometallic Pd/α‑Al2O3 sample. Also, it was found in the hydrogenation of diphenylacetylene and 1-phenyl-1-propyne on Pd–Ag/α-Al2O3 that the rate of the stage of desired olefin hydrogenation substantially decreases, which favors the kinetic control of the process.