Precisely Controlled Porous Alumina Overcoating on Pd Catalyst by Atomic Layer Deposition: Enhanced Selectivity and Durability in Hydrogenation of 1,3-Butadiene

Metal catalyst in selective hydrogenation reactions often suffers from low selectivity and especially poor durability due to heavy coke formation. Here we report that precisely controlled porous alumina overcoating on a Pd catalyst using atomic layer deposition (ALD) not only remarkably enhances the selectivity to butenes, especially to 1-butene, but also achieves the best ever durability against deactivation in selective hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene in the absence (or presence) of propene. Therein no visible activity declines or selectivity changes were observed during a total 124 h of reaction time on stream.