Highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles supported on SBA-15@derived C from RF resin for hydrogenation of 2-ethylanthraquinone

Supported Pd-based nanoparticles are widely regarded as the most effective catalysts for 2-ethylthraquinone hydrogenation. Herein, the heteroenergetic dual-supports were prepared by coating resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resin on mesoporous SBA-15 to regulate the growth and surface microenvironment of Pd. After calcination and reduction, phenolic hydroxyl groups in the residual carbon layer effectively reduced the Pd particle size, induced the formation of adjacent Pd⁰–Pd^δ+, and created hydrophobicity. Density functional theory calculations revealed that Pd atoms preferentially interact with OH on C, rather than with OH on SBA-15, providing an intrinsic driving force for smaller Pd particle size. The mass ratio of RF to SBA-15 was shown to be a crucial parameter affecting the catalytic performance. At the ratio of 4 (carbon content of 2.02%) the catalyst possesses the smallest Pd particles, 30% Pd^δ+ proportion, and higher hydrophobicity, achieving the best catalytic performance, with an activity of 0.57 molH₂·gPd⁻¹·min⁻¹ and a selectivity of 95.3%.