(377c) Selective Hydrogenation of Cinnamaldehyde over a Bimetallic Single Atom Catalyst Synthesized Via Chelate Fixation Participants

Introduction: The hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde (Figure 1) is fascinating not just because of the vast range of useful desired products, but also because it is a suitable model reaction for studying the structure-activity connection of catalysts. An aromatic ring with conjugated C=C and C=O links, make up the CAL molecule. Cinnamaldehyde is a prominent substrate for testing the catalytic activity of a hydrogenation catalyst because it has two unsaturated bonds (C=C and C=O) in the same molecule.

Catalyst synthesis and Characterization: In heterogeneous catalysis, single-atom catalysis has probably become the most active new field. We now have a huge number of single-atom Bimetallic catalysts (SACs) that display different performances for a wide range of chemical processes. Because SACs have well-defined active centers, they provide unique potential for rationally designing novel catalysts with high activity, selectivity, and stability.

The method newly developed at UofSC for the synthesis of SACs via chelate fixation (CheFi) provides a simple, scalable pathway for the synthesis of bimetallic catalysts with mixed metal sites, in close enough proximity to exhibit the desired bimetallic effect.

Based on prior studies, we anticipated that water in the hydration sheaths of dried precursors induces agglomeration of even electrostatically bound precursors after drying, resulting in the production of metal particles. An organic chelating agent is administered immediately after the precursors incipient impregnation stage to alleviate this problem. The Chelating chemical, we believed, would attach the metal precursor to the support surface, preventing precursor aggregation during drying. Figure 2 depicts the schematics of this method, which we call chelate fixation (CheFi). The efficiency of the CheFi approach for creating a series of structure-well-defined Bimetallic SAC supported on Norit-Carbon was demonstrated in this study by comparing conventional synthesis methods with our novel method. Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy was employed (STEM) in Figure 3.