The effect of the metal precursor-reduction with hydrogen on a library of bimetallic Pd-Au and Pd-Pt catalysts for the direct synthesis of H2O2

Abstract

Two sets of bimetallic Pd-Pt (Pd: 1.0; Pt: 0.25-1.0%, w/w) and Pd-Au (Pd: 1.0; Au: 0.25-1.0%, w/w) catalysts have been used, with no added promoter, in the catalytic direct synthesis (CDS) of hydrogen peroxide from its elements at 2°C with a CO2/O2/H2 mixture (72/25.5/2.5%, respectively). The catalysts were supported on the commercial macroreticular ion-exchange resin Lewatit K2621 and were obtained from the reduction with H2 of ion-exchanged cationic precursors at 5bar and at 60°C. The addition of Pt or Au to Pd produced an increase of the initial overall catalytic activity in comparison with monometallic Pd with both the second metals, but with Pt the increase was much higher than with Au. Moreover, the addition of 0.25% (w/w) Pt, or more, invariably made all the Pd-Pt catalysts less selective with respect to Pd alone. In the case of Au, by contrast, the addition of 0.25% w/w produced an increase, albeit small, of the selectivity. As the result, the most active and productive Pd-Pt catalyst was 1Pd025PtK2621 with 1891 mol(H2) mol(Pd+Pt)−1 h−1 initially consumed, 1875 mol(H2O2) mol(Pd+Pt)−1 h−1 initially produced, a 45% selectivity towards H2O2 at 50% conversion of H2. In the case of the Pd-Au bimetallic catalysts, 1Pd025AuK2621 was the best one, with 1184 mol(H2) mol(Pd+Pt)−1 h−1 initially consumed, 739 mol(H2O2) mol(Pd+Pt)−1 h−1 initially produced, a 55% selectivity towards H2O2 at 50% conversion of H2. Although the characterization of the Pd-Pt and Pd-Au catalysts with TEM showed that the morphology of the nanostructured metal phases in the Pd-Pt and Pd-Au catalysts was very different from each family to the other, no clear correlation between the size of the nanoparticles and their distribution and the catalytic performance was apparent. These catalysts were also generally different, especially the Pd-Au ones, from previously reported related materials obtained from the same support and the same precursor, but with a different reducing agent (formaldehyde).