Hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene over Au and Pt/SiO2-N catalysts at low temperature

Au nanoparticles (NPs) from 2.1 to 62 nm and Pt NPs in 2-3 nm were supported on the amide functional silica (SiO2-N). The effect of particle size on the catalytic activity was investigated by the 1,3-butadiene hydrogenation reaction. Based on thermal conductivity detector (TCD) signal, the reaction is size-dependent The highest turnover frequency (TOF) occurs at a particle size of similar to 3 nm, while the Pt NPs are inactive (0.001 s(-1)). It indicates that Au based catalysts are more active than supported Pt based catalyst at very low temperature. In addition, the sigma-bonded species on Au particles have been characterized by in situ Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. It means that the chemical adsorbate-substrate interaction is strong at low temperature, (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.