Effect of Treatment with Sodium Carbonate and Hydrogen on the Activity and Selectivity of Pd-Containing Polymer Catalysts for the Hydrogenation of Acetylene Compounds

The catalytic hydrogenation of a carbon–carbon triple bond in acetylene compounds is an important industrial process in which high selectivity toward olefin compounds must be ensured. This work considers the effect of treating palladium catalysts based on hyper-cross-linked polystyrene (HPS) with sodium carbonate on the activity and selectivity in the hydrogenation of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol and phenylacetylene is considered. The effect of such treatment depends on the palladium precursor and the polymer support (HPS non-functionalized or HPS containing tertiary amino groups). Selectivity in the hydrogenation of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol (95% conversion of the substrate) is 98% at ambient hydrogen pressure and 90°C in toluene for 1%-Pd/HPS catalysts treated with Na2CO3 and 99.5% in the hydrogenation of phenylacetylene.