Phthalimide Ligand Coordination as a Critical “Key” for Constructing Chlorine–Platinum–Nitrogen Single-Site Catalysts for Effective Acetylene Hydrochlorination

Owing to the low dispersion and deficiency of active species in Pt catalysts, Pt-complexes catalysts (Pt–Lx/SAC–IPA) were synthesized using 2-propanol (IPA) solvent via ligand coordination strategy. The IPA, which exhibits a low boiling point and weak polarity, promotes the dispersion of Pt species. Further, the introduction of phthalimide ligand (L1) modulates the electronic properties of active metals, thereby constructing the single-site-dispersed Cl–Pt–N local structure bearing Pt(II) (presumably the active center of the reaction). Concurrently, the enhanced adsorption and activation performances of the catalyst toward an HCl reactant, as well as its weakened performances toward a C2H2 reactant, improve its anticoking performance and lower the reaction energy barrier. Therefore, the most active Pt–L1/SAC–IPA catalyst achieves an outstanding performance comparable with that of the standard Au/activated carbon (AC)–aqua regia (AR) catalyst, and it is reasonable to conclude that the L1 ligand functioned as a critical “key” in the Pt-based catalytic acetylene hydrochlorination.