Preparation of platinum compositions supported on reduced graphite oxide and their catalytic properties in liquid-phase hydrogenation

Platinum compositions supported on graphite oxide prereduced by NaBH4 or N2H4 · H2O have been prepared. Platinum has been precipitated from H2PtCl6 solutions in the presence of pyridine onto reduced graphite oxide and has been reduced there by NaBH4. The resulting compositions, with a platinum particle size of ~2 nm, catalyze the hydrogenation of the–NO2 group in nitrobenzene and of the C=C double bond in dec-1-ene or styrene. The activity of the catalysts prepared by platinum precipitation on the prereduced graphite oxide is higher than that of platinum supported on unreduced graphite oxide. The high activity of the catalysts is assumed to be due to the localization of platinum on defects of the support structure.