Bifunctional catalyst Pd-Al-MCM-41 for efficient dimerization-hydrogenation of beta-pinene in one pot

A new type of bimetallic palladium and aluminum incorporated mobile crystalline materials (Pd-Al-MCM-41) as bifunctional catalysts has been hydrothermally synthesized. Characterization shows that these molecular materials exhibit an ordered mesoporous structure, high surface area and a good dispersion of palladium in the frame. The catalytic activity of the Pd-Al-MCM-41 for the dimerization-hydrogenation reaction system of beta-pinene in one pot has been systematically studied. Pd-0.5-Al-30-MCM-41 (SiO2/Al2O3 = 30, 0.5 wt% palladium content) was found to be the best catalyst which gave a dimer yield of up to 64.7%. It is worth noting that palladium shows a good synergic catalytic effect with aluminum in the dimerization reaction and enhances the dimerization yield. Furthermore, the bifunctional catalyst displayed a good activity over 4 runs.