The selective hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde over bimetallic catalysts

Abstract

The selective hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde has been investigated over a monometallic Pt/SiO2 catalyst and platinum bimetallic catalysts where the second metal was either silver, copper, or tin. The effects of addition of a second metal to the Pt/SiO2 system on the selectivity to crotyl alcohol were investigated. The Pt-Sn bimetallic catalysts were characterized by hydrogen chemisorption, 1H NMR and microcalorimetry. The Pt-Ag/SiO2 and Pt-Cu/SiO2 catalysts were characterized by hydrogen chemisorption. Pt-Sn/SiO2 catalysts selectively hydrogenated crotonaldehyde to crotyl alcohol and the method of preparation of these catalysts affected the selectivity. The most selective Pt-Sn/SiO2 catalysts for the hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde to crotyl alcohol were those in which the Sn precursor was dissolved in a HCl solution. Sn increased both the rate of formation of butyraldehyde and the rate of formation of crotyl alcohol. The Pt/SiO2, Pt-Ag/SiO2 and Pt-Cu/SiO2 catalysts produced only butyraldehyde. Initial heats of adsorption (~90 kJ/mol) measured using microcalorimetry were not affected by the presence of Sn on Pt. We can conclude that there is no through metal electronic interaction between Pt and Sn at least with respect to hydrogen surface bonds since the Pt and Pt-Sn at least with respect to hydrogen surface bonds since the Pt and Pt-Sn had similar initial heats of adsorption coupled with the invariance of the 1H NMR Knight shift.