Al₂O₃-Flower Anchoring Pd Catalyst for Acetylene Selective Hydrogenation: A Compartmentalizing Strategy Promotes Metal Dispersion and Maintains Stability

It is highly desired that performance of Pd catalysts is improved by the design and preparation of homogeneously dispersed and stablized in many industrial catalytic processes and still a big challenge. Herein, small-sized Pd over Al₂O₃-flower (f-Al₂O₃) via compartmentalization strategy is successfully prepared. Ultrafine Pd phases are highly dispersed and thermally stabilized by flower-liked architectures, which not only efficiently suppress Pd aggregation at reaction conditions, but also promote mass transport and reactants access to active sites easily. The catalysts exhibit a stable acetylene conversion of 93% with ethylene selectivity of 94% within a single running of 60 days (60 ℃, GHSV 4500 h⁻¹) without introducing any promoter, and high TOF value (0.4 S⁻¹) are achieved as well. This work provides a facile strategy of improving the activity and thermal stability of Al₂O₃-supported nano-catalysts in industrial application.