Luigi Abis, Daniela Belli Dell' Amico, Carlo Busetto, Fausto Calderazzo, Fabio Garbassi and Alessandra Tomei
Chemical implantation of palladium(II) has been carried out under mild conditions by reacting trans-Pd(O2CNEt2)2(NHEt2)2 with the silanol groups of amorphous silica, carbon dioxide and secondary amine being released in the process. The palladium-containing silica has been characterized and the coordination environment of the implanted cation has been defined by 13C CP MAS NMR, DRIFT and XPS spectra, and by WAXS measurements. Silica-bonded palladium(II) was reduced thermally in vacuo or with dihydrogen at room temperature. Catalytic activity in the hydrogenation of cyclohexene was found for all samples containing the silica-supported reduced palladium; the best results, with rates independent of olefin concentration, were found for the samples treated thermally (200°C) under reduced pressure.