Preparation of Pd/C catalyst by modifying carbon with γ-Al₂O₃

Abstract

Activated carbon was modified with γ-Al₂O₃ by the impregnation precipitation method, and the obtained Al₂O₃-AC was characterised by a surface area and pore size analyser, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyser. The results suggested that the content of γ-Al₂O₃ on the carbon surface was an important factor for the specific surface area. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that with an increase of the content of γ-Al₂O₃, more γ-Al₂O₃ wires or bars could be observed. Rosin disproportionation reaction revealed that the Pd catalyst prepared with Al₂O₃-AC as support had higher catalytic activity than that using the original carbon. With an increase in the content of γ-Al₂O₃, the maximum catalytic activity was achieved when the γ-Al₂O₃ content increased to 10 wt-%, while the catalytic activity basically remained unchanged when the content of γ-Al₂O₃ varied from 10 to 15 wt-%.

Keywords:

• Carbon support
• Modification
• γ-Al₂O₃
• Pd/AC catalyst
• Rosin disproportionation