Effect of reaction conditions on the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide with a AuPd/TiO2 catalyst in a flow reactor

Simon J Freakley, Marco Piccinini, Jennifer K Edwards, Edwin N Ntainjua, Jacob A Moulijn, Graham J Hutchings

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

87 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

The direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) represents a potential alternative to the currently industrially used anthraquinone process, and Au–Pd catalysts have been identified as effective catalysts. To obtain a direct process, a detailed understanding of the reaction conditions in a continuous flow system is needed. In this study, we use a flow reactor to study reaction conditions independently, including total gas flow rate, catalyst mass, reaction pressure, solvent flow rate, and H2/O2 molar ratio. The study was carried out without the addition of any halide or acid additives often used to suppress the sequential hydrogenation and decomposition reactions that allowed the kinetics of these reactions to be studied along with the synthesis reaction. A global kinetic model describing the net and gross synthesis rate is proposed, and on the basis of this model, we propose that the decomposition reaction suppresses the production of H2O2 to a greater extent than hydrogenation and that catalyst design studies should aim at blocking or generating catalysts without O–O dissociation sites.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)487-501
Number of pages15
JournalACS Catalysis
Volume3
Issue number4
Early online date6 Feb 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Apr 2013

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