Amorphous, low-porosity carbon spheres on the order of a few micrometers in size were prepared by carbonization of squalane (C30H62) in supercritical CO2 at 823 K. The spheres were characterized and used as catalysts' supports for Pd. Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure studies of the spheres revealed sp(2) and sp(3) hybridized carbon. To activate carbons for interaction with a metal precursor, often oxidative treatment of a support is needed. We showed that boiling of the obtained spheres in 28 wt % HNO3 did not affect the shape and bulk structure of the spheres, but led to creation of a considerable amount of surface oxygen-containing functional groups and increase of the content of sp(2) hybridized carbon on the surface. This carbon was seen by scanning transmission electron microscopy in the form of waving graphene flakes. The H/C atomic ratio in the spheres was relatively high (0.4) and did not change with the HNO3 treatment. Palladium was deposited by impregnation with Pd acetate followed by reduction in H2. This gave uniform Pd clusters with a size of 2-4 nm. The Pd supported on the original C spheres showed 2-3 times higher catalytic activity in vapor phase formic acid decomposition and higher selectivity for H2 formation (98-99%) than those for the catalyst based on the HNO3 treated spheres. Using of such low-porosity spheres as a catalyst support should prevent mass transfer limitations for fast catalytic reactions.
Keywords: Pd acetate; carbon spheres; formic acid; functional groups; hydrogen production.