Hydrogenation of 1,3-butadiene over Au and Pt/SiO2-N catalysts at low temperature

•Au particles can catalyze low temperature selective hydrogenation reaction.•The maximum activity is originated from suitable size of Au NPs in 2–3 nm.•The selectivity to butene is 100% over Au based catalysts.•Au/SiO2-N catalyst is more active than Pt/SiO2-N catalyst at low temperature.•The σ-bonded species are observed by FT-IR spectroscopy at ca. 210 K.

Au nanoparticles (NPs) from 2.1 to 6.2 nm and Pt NPs in 2–3 nm were supported on the amide functional silica (SiO2-N). The effect of particle size on the catalytic activity was investigated by the 1,3-butadiene hydrogenation reaction. Based on thermal conductivity detector (TCD) signal, the reaction is size-dependent. The highest turnover frequency (TOF) occurs at a particle size of ~ 3 nm, while the Pt NPs are inactive (0.001 s− 1). It indicates that Au based catalysts are more active than supported Pt based catalyst at very low temperature. In addition, the σ-bonded species on Au particles have been characterized by in situ Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. It means that the chemical adsorbate–substrate interaction is strong at low temperature.

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