Structural and Electronic Properties of Highly Dispersed Particles of the Active Components of Pd/Al2O3 Catalysts of Butadiene-1,3 Hydrogenation

Abstract

The effect of the acidic characteristics of an alumina support on the properties of formed palladium particles is studied to improve the activity of catalysts for the hydrogenation of unsaturated hydrocarbons of the pyrogasoline fraction. High catalytic activity is characteristic of highly dispersed palladium particles, but the surfaces of palladium particles are blocked by unsaturated hydrocarbons, due to their electron deficiency. In this work, palladium/alumina catalysts with supports of different acidities due to chemical modification with various reagents are studied via NH₃ temperature-programed desorption, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The samples are subjected to catalytic tests in the butadiene-1,3 hydrogenation reaction under laboratory conditions. The catalysts on supports with acidic modifiers display low butadiene-1,3 conversion and higher selectivity toward butene-1, relative to an unmodified sample. The catalysts on the supports treated with basic additives displayed high butadiene-1,3 conversion while retaining their selectivities toward butene-1 and butane.