Selective hydrogenation of phenylacetylene into styrene on gold nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles (2–10 nm) supported on γ-Al₂O₃ exhibit high activity and stability in the hydrogenation of phenylacetylene into styrene in the phenylacetylene-styrene mixture. The selectivity of the catalyst is particle size-dependent: the styrene-to-ethylbenzene molar ratio in the reaction products increases from 2 to 30 as the average gold particle size decreases from 8 to 2.5 nm. The selectivity of phenylacetylene hydrogenation correlates with the selectivity of phenylacetylene adsorption on Au/γ-Al₂O₃ from the phenylacetylene-styrene mixture.