Phenol hydrogenation to cyclohexanol on a novel Pd7P3/SiC catalyst with high activity and selectivity

Abstract

Aqueous catalytic phenol has been explored using Pd7P3/SiC catalysts in the presence of H2. Palladium phosphide was prepared by oleoamine reduction and supported on silicon carbide. The physicochemical properties of the catalyst were characterized by inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectrometer (ICP-MS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that palladium phosphide is successfully supported on silicon carbide, and the dispersion is relatively uniform with the particle size is about 6–9 nm. Under the same catalytic conditions, a catalyst with a loading of 2.4 wt% exhibits the best activity. When the temperature is 40 °C, the initial pressure is 5 bar, the conversion of phenol can reach more than 99%, and the selectivity of cyclohexanol reaches 94% after 2 h reaction.