Spectroscopic evidence for origins of size and support effects on selectivity of Cu nanoparticle dehydrogenation catalysts

Abstract

Selective dehydrogenation catalysts that produce acetaldehyde from bio-derived ethanol can increase the efficiency of subsequent processes such as C–C coupling over metal oxides to produce 1-butanol or 1,3-butadiene or oxidation to acetic acid. Here, we use in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and steady state kinetics experiments to identify Cu^δ+ at the perimeter of supported Cu clusters as the active site for esterification and Cu⁰ surface sites as sites for dehydrogenation. Correlation of dehydrogenation and esterification selectivities to in situ measures of Cu oxidation states show that this relationship holds for Cu clusters over a wide-range of diameters (2–35 nm) and catalyst supports and reveals that dehydrogenation selectivities may be controlled by manipulating either.