In-situ high-pressure 13C/1H NMR reaction studies of benzyl alcohol oxidation over a Pd/Al2O3 catalyst

We report in situ high-pressure NMR kinetic studies of catalytic oxidations inside heterogeneous catalysts exploiting distortionless enhancement by polarisation transfer (DEPT) 13C NMR. 1H NMR diffusion and relaxation time measurements are then used to elucidate trends in reaction kinetics in different solvents. The work shows the feasibility of non-invasively monitoring intra-particle kinetics, transport and adsorption in porous catalysts using a comprehensive NMR toolkit.