Operando XAS Probing Pd Catalysts in HIgh Pressure Chemical Reactors

Hydrogen peroxide is an important environmentally friendly oxidant widely used in a number of industries. Nearly all industrially produced H2O2 is derived from the large scale anthraquinone process. There is a need to develop alternative small-scale green and sustainable processes capable of producing H2O2 at the point of use. Direct synthesis of H2O2 from H2 and O2 may be able to economically provide H2O2 at a small scale. However, the implementation of the direct H2O2 synthesis is hindered by the safety concerns, particularly the use of highly explosive gas mixtures under pressure, and poor understanding of the process and the respective catalysts. To obtain structural data on working catalysts we developed a new operando setup and measurement cell concept allowing high quality measurements of solid catalysts in continuous liquid flows containing high concentrations of dissolved oxygen and hydrogen. In my talk I will present the operando setup for measurement of liquid-solid systems at high pressure as well as structure-activity-stability relationships for mono- and bimetallic Pd-based nanoparticles during synthesis of H2O2 under industrially relevant conditions.