Bio-Inspired Self-Activating Polydimethylsiloxane-Modified CrOx/Al2O3 Catalyst for Acetylene Semi-Hydrogenation

Abstract

Biomimetic approach is a nature-driven strategy for designing functional materials to meet the industrial challenges. Here we demonstrate the bio-inspired discovery of a self-activating catalyst, with polydimethylsiloxane anchored over the surface of CrOx/Al2O3, exhibiting comparable performance with noble metallic catalysts for acetylene semi-hydrogenation. In addition, the dynamic movement of polymer chains with high flexibility renders the catalyst to impose proactive perturbation to the undesired coke precursors generated in reaction, analogous to the function of hair-like cilia on the surface of respiratory epithelial cells, thus avoiding the site-blocking induced by carbonaceous deposits and sustaining the catalyst stable for 1000 h without any deactivation. This study paves the way to the develop other heterogeneous catalysts with high efficiency and durability via mimicking the innate defense mechanism of natural organism.