Bifunctional catalyst Pd–Al-MCM-41 for efficient dimerization–hydrogenation of β-pinene in one pot

Abstract

A new type of bimetallic palladium and aluminum incorporated mobile crystalline materials (Pd–Al-MCM-41) as bifunctional catalysts has been hydrothermally synthesized. Characterization shows that these molecular materials exhibit an ordered mesoporous structure, high surface area and a good dispersion of palladium in the frame. The catalytic activity of the Pd–Al-MCM-41 for the dimerization–hydrogenation reaction system of β-pinene in one pot has been systematically studied. Pd_0.5–Al₃₀-MCM-41 (SiO₂/Al₂O₃ = 30, 0.5 wt% palladium content) was found to be the best catalyst which gave a dimer yield of up to 64.7%. It is worth noting that palladium shows a good synergic catalytic effect with aluminum in the dimerization reaction and enhances the dimerization yield. Furthermore, the bifunctional catalyst displayed a good activity over 4 runs.