The Role of Adsorbed and Subsurface Carbon Species for the Selective Alkyne Hydrogenation Over a Pd-Black Catalyst: An Operando Study of Bulk and Surface

The selective hydrogenation of propyne over a Pd-black model catalyst was investigated under operando conditions at 1 bar making use of advanced X-ray diffraction (bulk sensitive) and photo-electron spectroscopy (surface sensitive) techniques. It was found that the population of subsurface species controls the selective catalytic semi-hydrogenation of propyne to propylene due to the formation of surface and near-surface PdC_x that inhibits the participation of more reactive bulk hydrogen in the hydrogenation reaction. However, increasing the partial pressure of hydrogen reduces the population of PdC_x with the concomitant formation of a β-PdH_x phase up to the surface, which is accompanied by a lattice expansion, allowing the participation of more active bulk hydrogen which is responsible for the unselective total alkyne hydrogenation. Therefore, controlling the surface and subsurface catalyst chemistry is crucial to control the selective alkyne semi-hydrogenation.