Structure of Pd/SiO2 Sol-Gel and Impregnated Catalysts

Palladium catalysts were prepared by sol-gel and impregnation techniques both in acid and basic media. The sol-gel catalysts resulted in larger PdO crystallites than the impregnated catalysts. In both preparation methods, an acid medium promoted the formation of small metal crystallites which provided catalytic activity. A stronger metal-support interaction was found in sol-gel catalysts synthesized from a square planar palladium complex. Deactivation results in phenylacetylene hydrogenation have been attributed to palladium hydrate formation or to deposition of carbonaceous compounds. The preparation mode determined the contribution of each deactivating reaction.