Influence of internal and external surface area on impregnation and activity of 3D printed catalyst carriers

Direct ink writing as additive manufacturing technique was used to print two different boehmite based shapes, cylinders and monoliths, serving as catalyst carriers. These were wet impregnated targeting 0.3–0.9 wt% platinum loadings. ICP-OES, μCT and microscopy revealed dependencies from calcination temperature, geometry and platinum loading. Dehydrogenation reactions of perhydro dibenzyltoluene as liquid organic hydrogen carrier were performed examining the catalytic performance. Differences when executing full particle measurements led to the conclusion that direct ink writing as shaping technique for catalyst carriers and the respective impregnation is highly beneficial as more complex shapes can be obtained, resulting in higher activities.