Publication date: 22nd July 2026
Hydrogenation reactions are essential for hydrogen storage using liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), enabling safe and efficient hydrogen management. The catalytic efficiency of these reactions depends largely on the intrinsic properties of noble metals. However, comprehensive comparisons of their physicochemical characteristics and hydrogenation activities remain limited.
In this work, various noble metals (M = Pt, Ru, and Pd) were deposited onto a gamma-phase alumina (γ-Al2O3) support synthesized via an advanced ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (UPS) technique based on a sol–gel process. The continuous UPS approach yields γ-Al2O3 with a high production rate of 1.5 g h–1, a microspherical morphology, high mesoporosity (0.36 cm3 g–1), and a large specific surface area (377 m2 g–1). Noble metals were deposited onto the synthesized γ-Al2O3 via NaBH4 reduction, producing uniformly distributed nanoparticles. The resulting M/γ-Al2O3 catalysts exhibit metal–support interactions (MSI) and increased surface hydroxyl groups, which promote hydrogen spillover. Importantly, H2 temperature-programmed desorption (H2-TPD) and reduction (H2-TPR) characterizations show that Ru/γ-Al2O3 possesses the highest hydrogen adsorption capacity. Moreover, hydrogen spillover occurs for both Ru/γ-Al2O3 and Pt/γ-Al2O3, whereas it is negligible for Pd/γ-Al2O3.
Catalytic performance was evaluated using the hydrogenation of monobenzyl toluene (MBT). The catalytic activity follows the order Ru/γ-Al2O3 > Pt/γ-Al2O3 > Pd/γ-Al2O3. The synthesized Ru/γ-Al2O3 outperforms a commercial Ru/Al2O3 catalyst. In terms of stability, Ru/γ-Al2O3 maintains a particle size of 4.8 nm after a 25-hour reaction, while Pt/γ-Al2O3 and Pd/γ-Al2O3 exhibit significant metal agglomeration, with particle sizes increasing to 8.5 nm and 13.6 nm, respectively.
In summary, this study presents an efficient synthesis strategy for large-scale production of γ-Al2O3 supports and demonstrates the effectiveness of the Ru/γ-Al2O3 catalyst for MBT hydrogenation in LOHC systems.
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIT) (RS-2024-00345635) and a research project through the Open R&D program of Korea Electric Power Corporation (grant number R23XO02).
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