ABSTRACT
Precious metal catalysts supported on activated carbon find extensive applications in hydrogenation of C=C bonds and functional groups. Their sulfides have been found to be considerably less active but more selective toward the desired product in many reactions. This chapter determines how a poison (sulfur) affects the adsorption and catalytic properties of carbon-supported Pt and Pd catalysts. The test reactions chosen were nitrobenzene hydrogenation and reductive alkylation of an amine with a ketone. It shows that the sulfur occupies the sites on which CO and acetone chemisorb and the hydrogenation reactions take place. A 3 wt% Pt catalyst and a 5 wt% Pd catalyst, both supported on activated carbon, commercially available from Engelhard were used in the present investigation. Catalysts with different amounts of sulfur were prepared by procedures described in the literature.
