Palladium nanoparticles encapsulated in a dendrimer networks as catalysts for the hydrogenation of unsaturated hydrocarbons

•Pd catalysts based on cross-linked PAMAM dendrimers were prepared.•Palladium nanoparticles size varies from 1.1 to 3.8 nm.•These catalysts are selective in the hydrogenation of double and triple bonds.•The activity in hydrogenation depends on the structure of the dendritic matrix.•Catalysts show high selectivity in phenylacetylene semihydrogenation.

A novel method has been proposed for encapsulating palladium nanoparticles up to 5 nm in the matrix of polymeric support networks based on polyamidoamine dendrimers. The shape of the particle size distribution and the catalytic activity of the materials obtained during the hydrogenation of unsaturated compounds depend strongly on the support structure. High activity (TOF up to 86,000 h−1) has been observed during the hydrogenation of styrene.

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