Direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide using ceria-supported gold and palladium catalysts

A key discovery in the last two decades has been the realisation that gold, when prepared as supported nanoparticles, is exceptionally effective as a redox catalyst. The catalytic efficacy is enhanced further by the alloying of gold with palladium and this is particularly exemplified for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide where supported gold palladium alloy nanoparticles are found to be highly active. In this paper we report a study of ceria-supported gold, palladium and gold–palladium nanoparticles for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide and show that ceria can be a potentially interesting support for this reaction. However, with current methods of catalyst fabrication ceria-supported monometallic palladium catalysts have a superior performance to bimetallic gold–palladium catalysts.

Graphical abstractPalladium supported on ceria is a very active and reusable catalyst for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (106 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Observation of direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide using ceria as a support with Pd nanoparticles gives enhanced activity. ► Addition of Au does not lead to a synergistic enhancement in contrast to all previous AuPd supported catalysts. ► Ceria supported AuPd and Pd catalysts are stable and reusable for this reaction.