Selective hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene on platinum–copper alloys at the single-atom limit

Platinum is ubiquitous in the production sectors of chemicals and fuels; however, its scarcity in nature and high price will limit future proliferation of platinum-catalysed reactions. One promising approach to conserve platinum involves understanding the smallest number of platinum atoms needed to catalyse a reaction, then designing catalysts with the minimal platinum ensembles. Here we design and test a new generation of platinum-copper nanoparticle catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene,, an industrially important reaction. Isolated platinum atom geometries enable hydrogen activation and spillover but are incapable of C-C bond scission that leads to loss of selectivity and catalyst…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Award: 1159882
• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy

  Awards: FG02-05ER15730, DE-FG02-, DE-FG02-05ER15730, DE-FG02
• OO
  Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• DO
  Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
• OO
  Office of Energy Efficiency
• AN
  Argonne National Laboratory
• OR
  Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• BN
  Brookhaven National Laboratory