Component controlled synthesis of bimetallic PdCu nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide for dehydrogenation of dodecahydro-N-ethylcarbazole

The unsatisfactory performance with high precious metal dosage of dehydrogenation catalysts has been the bottleneck for the development of liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC). The most representative dodecahydro-N-ethylcarbazole in LOHC also faces the same problem. Here, we report a series of bimetallic PdCu catalysts with different ratios supported on reduced graphene oxide prepared by a facile one-pot synthesis method. The most cost-effective Pd1.2Cu/rGO catalyst with the lowest amount of precious metals in the catalysts reported for dehydrogenation of dodecahydro-N-ethylcarbazole was selected from a series of samples, while maintaining the catalytic activity and selectivity to the final product of N-ethylcarbazole as the Pd/rGO catalyst with the highest activity in recently reported studies. At the same time, the change of Pd and Cu content and the effect of preparation temperature on dehydrogenation performance were also studied, and the corresponding reaction kinetics were revealed. In combination with various characterization methods of catalyst, the relationship between structure and properties of PdCu NPs was explored in depth. The average particle size and electron transfer between Pd and Cu were identified as the key factors affecting the catalytic activity.