Pd/UIO-66/sepiolite: Toward highly efficient dual-supported Pd-based catalyst for dehydrogenation of formic acid at room temperature

Formic acid (FA) has come to be considered as a potential material for chemical storage of hydrogen. Despite tremendous efforts, the development of highly efficient and relatively low-cost heterogeneous catalysts for dehydrogenation of FA remains a major challenge; the weak recyclability of catalyst limits its application in industry. In this work, the synthesis of Pd nanoparticles immobilized on UIO-66 amino grafting sepiolite (SEP) dual supports is by an impregnation-reduction method. The UIO-66 framework on fibrous amine-functionalized SEP support can significantly prevent agglomeration during the dehydrogenation process and control the size of Pd nanoparticles. The sacrificial effect of Pd nanoparticles from UIO-66 enables the active sites on NH2-SEP to maintain consistent catalytic activity and reusability in additive-free FA solution over 8th recycled use. Compared to current catalyst systems, this catalyst offers a brighter prospect of novel and efficient heterogeneous catalysis for formic acid dehydrogenation. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.