Perfluorinated membranes as catalyst supports

The perfluorinated polymer Nafion and porous PTFE/Nafion composite membranes have been employed as supports for nickel complexes or for platinum and palladium metal particles. The resultant materials have been employed as catalysts in various olefin conversion processes. Supported platinum and palladium metal systems were evaluated as catalysts for the hydrogenation of cyclohexene. Rates of reaction are better than those of commercially available catalysts; turnover numbers in excess of 6000 have been obtained with no poisoning apparent. Catalysts may be regenerated many times. The reduction rate approaches a limit at high pressures of hydrogen and has an activation energy of 13 kJ mol^?1 in neat cyclohexene. Nafion was employed as a strong acid cocatalyst to activate and then support a nickel complex catalyst. The resultant catalyst was active for double-bond-shift isomerization.