Deactivation of supported metal nanoparticles due to sintering is a key issue in industrial catalysts. We report an efficient, low-cost protocol for producing highly active and robust heterogeneous catalysts with low palladium loading (1.3%), high dispersion, and resistance to sintering. This is achieved using ethylenediamine (EN) as an inexpensive bidentate ligand for in situ complexation of Pd(II) ions in water, promoting stable impregnation and higher dispersion on a fumed silica support. Following EN decomposition in air at 225 degrees C for 48 h and subsequent hydrogen reduction, CO and H₂ chemisorption revealed a marked increase in Pd dispersion, from 6% at molar ratio n = 0 to 30% at n = 4, plateauing at n = 4-6, for this set of Pd:nEN samples. These Pd nanoparticles showed excellent catalytic activity and stability for propylene hydrogenation at 250 degrees C. Consistent with the trend in dispersion, catalytic activity increased with increasing Pd:nEN ratio from n = 0 to 4, then plateaued at 93% for n = 4-6. Testing under higher space velocity confirmed that the catalyst retained both high activity and stability. In summary, EN could be an industrially applicable ligand that yields a fumed silica-supported Pd catalyst suitable for hydrogenation.
- 9926883163401891
- Achieving Low Loadings yet Highly Active Catalysis by Ethylenediamine Promoted Dispersion of Palladium on Silica
- Varinder SinghHarry CahyantoJutarat JitradaLizhen LiuJun HuangAlex C. K. YipSally Brooker
- Chemistry
- ChemCatChem, Vol.18(11), e70845
- Wiley
- 04/06/2026
- MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology (New Zealand, Wellington)
- University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship; University of Canterbury Doctoral Scholarship;
- Copyright © The Author(s) 2026. This work was first published in ChemCatChem (Wiley). This is an open access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided that the original work is properly attributed to the creator(s) and the source, a link to the Creative Commons license is provided, and any changes made are indicated.
- English
- Journal article