Mesoporous silica-supported Pd nanoparticles; Highly selective catalyst for hydrogenation of olefins in supercritical carbon dioxide

The selective catalytic hydrogenation of olefins in the combination of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (scCO2) completely miscible with hydrogen and mesoporous Silica supported Palladium (Pd) nanoparticles was analyzed . The combination of scCO2 and solid supported catalysts is advantageous for a green chemistry reaction system, in which no organic solvent is used and the CO2 solvent and supported catalysts were separated from the reactants and products. The hydrogenolysis accompanied the hydrogenation when these supported catalysts were used for the hydrogenation of olefins including a benzyl group. Results show that the potential of Pd/SBA-15, in which the dispersion of Pd nanoparticles is highly improved by using scCO2, as an effective catalyst for versatile hydrogenation reactions performed in scCO2 solvent.