Synergy of ionic liquid and confinement in the design of supported palladium catalyst for efficient selective hydrogenation of acetylene

Abstract We present here a novel fabrication of highly effective supported Pd catalysts (Pd@S-1@IL) derived from Pd@S-1 core-shell material coated with ionic liquids (ILs), [Prmim][Cl], for the selective hydrogenation of acetylene. Catalytic testing on Pd@S-1@IL catalyst illustrated a remarkable selectivity towards semi-hydrogenation (over 90% for ethylene, irrespective of conversion level). Moreover, no indications of deactivation were observed after 800 h on stream even under relatively severe conditions. Detailed characterization indicated that the selectivity enhancement was ascribed to the filter effect along with electronic effect on the adsorption/desorption processes arising from the ionic liquids layer. The stability, which has ranked the top reported values over advanced Pd-based catalysts, is attributed to the confinement effect of Pd NPs within the supports thus restricting the migration of metals. The fabrication of core-shell architecture combined with the advantages of ionic liquid layer offers a promising guideline for efficient catalytic transfer of chemical resource.