Highly dispersed heterogeneous palladium catalysts by the introduction of plant tannin into porous Al2O3 supports

A new strategy was provided by the introduction of plant tannins in porous Al2O3 to solve the problems of thermal migration of Pd during catalyst preparation, which ensured the preparation of heterogeneous Pd catalysts with well dispersion and superior activity. Compared with the conventional Pd–Al2O3 catalyst, the as-prepared heterogeneous Pd catalyst exhibited considerably improved Pd dispersion, which was highly active for the catalytic hydrogenation of olefins.

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► Plant tannin was introduced into the pores of Al2O3.
► The presence of tannin is able to stabilize the Pd during drying and calcination.
► The well dispersed Pd nanoparticles ensure the high activity of the as-prepared Pd–Al2O3 catalyst as compared with the conventional Pd–Al2O3 catalyst.