Efficient selective hydrogenation of 2-butyne-1,4-diol to 2-butene-1,4-diol by silicon carbide supported platinum catalyst

Selective hydrogenation of 2-butyne-1,4-diol (BYD) to 2-butene-1,4-diol (BED) is important for chemical industries. In this work, a low concentration (0.5 wt%) of platinum (Pt) was deposited onto a silicon carbide (SiC) support by an incipient wetness impregnation approach, and the as-obtained catalyst exhibited an excellent selectivity (similar to 96%) for BED with a high conversion of 96% for BYD. Multiple characterization techniques were applied to investigate the active species for this reaction. The X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) data together with the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images indicated that the as-calcined 0.5Pt/SiC consisted of platinum oxide clusters (PtxOy), which were further converted to the reduced Pt-0 species during the hydrogenation process. Therefore, metallic Pt nanoparticles with 2-3 nm in size supported on silicon carbide are the active species for BED products via the selective hydrogenation of BYD in this work.