Palladium Nanoparticles Immobilized on Nitride Carbon-Coated Mesoporous Tungsten Oxide for Formic Acid Dehydrogenation

Taking advantage of a unique coating strategy, palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) were immobilized on a nitride carbon (NC)-coated mesoporous tungsten oxide (WO3) (Pd/NCt@WO3) that had enhanced catalytic behavior for H-2 production from formic acid (FA) dehydrogenation. The full characterization results demonstrated that NC was successfully coated on the surface of mesoporous WO3, and the resulting composite NC400@WO3 stabilized small Pd NPs (2-3 nm). Owing to the improved Pd-support interaction and abundant oxygen deficiencies, the target catalyst Pd/NC400@WO3 exhibited good catalytic activity with a turnover frequency of 1225 h(-1) under a high n(FA)/n(pd) molar ratio of 243 and durability for dehydrogenation of FA at 50 degrees C. This work may provide romising support for more noble metal catalysts with improved catalytic performance.