Selective hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene on PdNi bimetallic catalyst: From model surfaces to supported catalysts

The selective hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene serves as a means to purify the butene stream generated from cracking naphtha or gas oil. To identify selective hydrogenation catalysts, 1,3-butadiene was studied on single crystal Ni/Pd(1 1 1) bimetallic surfaces, utilizing density functional theory (DFT) calculations and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). DFT calculations predicted that the Pd-terminated bimetallic surface should be more active and selective to produce 1-butene, which were verified experimentally using TPD. The promising results on model surfaces were extended to γ-Al ₂O₃-supported catalysts using both batch and flow reactors. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the formation of bimetallic nanoparticles. The PdNi bimetallic catalyst showed higher hydrogenation activity and 1-butene selectivity than the monometallic catalysts. The excellent correlation between model surfaces and supported catalysts demonstrates the feasibility of designing effective bimetallic catalysts for selective hydrogenation reactions.