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Precisely Engineered Supported Gold Clusters as a Stable Catalyst for Propylene Epoxidation
Author(s) -
Kapil Nidhi,
Weissenberger Tobias,
Cardinale Fabio,
Trogadas Panagiotis,
Nijhuis T. Alexander,
Nigra Michael M.,
Coppens MarcOlivier
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.202104952
Subject(s) - catalysis , high resolution transmission electron microscopy , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , chemical engineering , selectivity , thermal stability , materials science , particle size , nanometre , particle (ecology) , ligand (biochemistry) , phase (matter) , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , transmission electron microscopy , composite material , oceanography , geology , engineering , biochemistry , receptor
Abstract Designing a stable and selective catalyst with high H 2 utilisation is of pivotal importance for the direct gas‐phase epoxidation of propylene. This work describes a facile one‐pot methodology to synthesise ligand‐stabilised sub‐nanometre gold clusters immobilised onto a zeolitic support (TS‐1) to engineer a stable Au/TS‐1 catalyst. A non‐thermal O 2 plasma technique is used for the quick removal of ligands with limited increase in particle size. Compared to untreated Au/TS‐1 catalysts prepared using the deposition precipitation method, the synthesised catalyst exhibits improved catalytic performance, including 10 times longer lifetime (>20 days), increased PO selectivity and hydrogen efficiency in direct gas phase epoxidation. The structure‐stability relationship of the catalyst is illustrated using multiple characterisation techniques, such as XPS, 31 P MAS NMR, DR‐UV/VIS, HRTEM and TGA. It is hypothesised that the ligands play a guardian role in stabilising the Au particle size, which is vital in this reaction. This strategy is a promising approach towards designing a more stable heterogeneous catalyst.