Discovery and Optimization of Heterogeneous Catalysts by Using Combinatorial Chemistry

A novel ceramic array microreactor system has been designed and, in conjunction with resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI), used for the discovery of an optimum ternary catalyst composition for the dehydrogenation of cyclohexane to benzene. The catalyst library consisted of 66 ternary combinations of Pt, Pd, and In loaded on γ-Al₂O₃ pellets. The optimum catalyst for the production of benzene had the composition 0.8 % Pt, 0.1 % Pd, and 0.1 % In (see diagram). The preparation and screening of the library of 66 catalysts took about 2.5 days to complete—with conventional methods this would have taken several months!