Ruling Factors in Cinnamaldehyde Hydrogenation: Activity and Selectivity of Pt-Mo Catalysts

Marta Stucchi; Maela Manzoli; Filippo Bossola; Alberto Villa; Laura Prati

doi:10.3390/nano11020362

Ruling Factors in Cinnamaldehyde Hydrogenation: Activity and Selectivity of Pt-Mo Catalysts

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2021 Feb 1;11(2):362. doi: 10.3390/nano11020362.

Authors

Marta Stucchi¹, Maela Manzoli², Filippo Bossola³, Alberto Villa¹, Laura Prati¹

Affiliations

¹ Chemistry Department, University of Milano, Via C. Golgi 19, 20133 Milano, Italy.
² Department of Drug Science and Technology and NIS Centre for Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces, University of Turin, Via P. Giuria 9, 10125 Torino, Italy.
³ Istituto di scienze e tecnologie chimiche "Giulio Natta" (SCITEC) CNR, Via C. Golgi 19, 20133 Milano, Italy.

Abstract

To obtain selective hydrogenation catalysts with low noble metal content, two carbon-supported Mo-Pt bimetallic catalysts have been synthesized from two different molybdenum precursors, i.e., Na₂MoO₄ and (NH₄)₆Mo₇O₂₄. The results obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with the presence and strength of acid sites clarified the different catalytic behavior toward cinnamaldehyde hydrogenation. After impregnating the carbon support with Mo precursors, each sample was used either as is or treated at 400 °C in N₂ flow, as support for Pt nanoparticles (NPs). The heating treatment before Pt deposition had a positive effect on the catalytic performance. Indeed, TEM analyses showed very homogeneously dispersed Pt NPs only when they were deposited on the heat-treated Mo/C supports, and XPS analyses revealed an increase in both the exposure and reduction of Pt, which was probably tuned by different MoO₃/MoO₂ ratios. Moreover, the different acid properties of the catalysts resulted in different selectivity.

Keywords: bimetallic Pt structure; carbon supported Mo; cinnamaldehyde; cinnamaldehyde hydrogenation; molybdenum; selectivity.