Shape-controlled palladium nanoparticles in catalytic hydrogenations

• Author / Creator

  Ma, Ran

• Monodisperse Pd nanocubes of 20 nm rib length and Pd nanospheres of 3 nm diameter deposited on corundum were used as efficient tool to reveal structure sensitivity of three-phase hydrogenations of unsaturated alcohols. For an olefin alcohol hydrogenation in the kinetic regime, surface (100) atoms of the cubes displayed lower activity than other surface atoms of the spheres. Apparent activation energies of 23 kJ/mol for the cubes and 17 kJ/mol for the spheres confirmed the reaction structure sensitivity. In an acetylenic alcohol hydrogenation, the cubes showed higher selectivity to an olefinic product than the spheres. Apparent activation energy was found as 38 kJ/mol for the cubes and 24 kJ/mol for the spheres. The apparent structure sensitivity in this case was attributed to liquid-solid mass transfer limitations governing the sphere-catalyzed reactions. The study shows the applicability and limitations of the use of nanoparticles for structure sensitivity studies in catalysis.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Catalyst
  • Nanoparticles
  • Cube
  • Hydrogenations
  • CTAB

• Graduation date

  Spring 2011

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3193D

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.