Low-Temperature Acetylene Semi-Hydrogenation over the Pd<sub>1</sub>–Cu<sub>1</sub> Dual-Atom Catalyst
Fei Huang, Mi Peng, Yunlei Chen, Xiangbin Cai, Xuetao Qin, Ning Wang, Dequan Xiao, Jin Li, Guoqing Wang, Xiaodong Wen, Hongyang Liu, Ding Ma
Abstract
The atomically dispersed metal catalyst or single-atom catalyst (SAC) with the utmost metal utilization efficiency shows excellent selectivity toward ethylene compared to the metal nanoparticles catalyst in the acetylene semi-hydrogenation reaction. However, these catalysts normally work at relatively high temperatures. Achieving low-temperature reactivity while preserving high selectivity remains a challenge. To improve the intrinsic reactivity of SACs, rationally tailoring the coordination environments of the first metal atom by coordinating it with a second neighboring metal atom affords an opportunity. Here, we report the fabrication of a dual-atom catalyst (DAC) that features a bonded Pd1–Cu1 atomic pair anchoring on nanodiamond graphene (ND@G). Compared to the single-atom Pd or Cu catalyst, it exhibits increased reactivity at a lower temperature, with 100% acetylene conversion and 92% ethylene selectivity at 110 °C. This work provides a strategy for designing DACs for low-temperature hydrogenation by manipulating the coordination environment of catalytic sites at the atomic level.