Development of carbon xerogels as alternative Pt-supports for the selective hydrogenation of citral

• Pure carbon xerogels with fitted porosity were prepared by sol-gel technology.
• Activated carbons contain mineral matter in different proportion and nature.
• The developed mesoporosity and acid impurities favor secondary reactions.
• Secondary reactions are avoided using microporous spherical carbon xerogels.

The role of activated carbons and carbon xerogels as Pt-supports for the selective citral hydrogenation is compared. The influence of porosity and inorganic matter impurities in activated carbons determines the performance of their derivative catalysts. The presence of Pt-particles inside mesopores and acid mineral matter favors secondary reactions decreasing the unsaturated alcohols (UA) yield. Highly active and selective monometallic Pt-catalysts were obtained using pure carbon xerogels structured in microspheres as support.

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