Hydrogenation activity and selectivity behavior of supported palladium nanoparticles

Enhancement in activity and selectivity of catalytic hydrogenation using supported nanosize palladium catalyst has been investigated. Pd/C catalyst prepared in the presence of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as a stabilizer gave Pd particle size in a narrow range of 3–5 nm. While, evaluating for hydrogenation of 2-butyne-1,4-diol, the rate enhancement was found to be 10 times higher as compared to the conventional (bulk) Pd catalysts. A proper choice of stabilizer (PVP) giving small particle size as well as highly dispersed nature of nano particles were the major factors for such a dramatic enhancement of activity.