@article {1413457,
	title = {Dilute Pd-in-Au alloy RCT-SiO2 catalysts for enhanced oxidative methanol coupling},
	journal = {Journal of Catalysis},
	year = {2021},
	abstract = {<p id="sp0015">
	Dilute alloy catalysts have the potential to enhance selectivity and activity for large-scale reactions. Highly dilute Pd-in-Au nanoparticle alloys partially embedded in porous silica ({\textquotedblleft}raspberry colloid templated{\textquotedblright} (RCT)-SiO2) prove to be robust and selective catalysts for oxidative coupling of methanol. Palladium concentrations in the bimetallic nanoparticles as low as ~3.4 at.\% catalyze the production of methyl formate with a selectivity of ~95\% at conversions of ~55\%, whereas conversions are low (\&lt;10\%) for ~1.7 at.\% Pd-in-Au nanoparticle and pure Au nanoparticle catalysts. Fractional reaction orders for both CH3OH and O2measured for ~3.4 at.\% Pd-in-Au nanoparticles supported on RCT-SiO2\&nbsp;indicated a complex mechanism in which the sites for O2\&nbsp;dissociation are not saturated. Optimal methyl formate production was found for an equimolar mixture. There is no conversion of methanol in the absence of O2\&nbsp;between 360 and 450\&nbsp;K. All observations are consistent with a mechanism derived from model studies, requiring that clusters of Pd be available on the catalyst for O2\&nbsp;dissociation.
</p>
},
	url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021951721002396},
	author = {Filie, Amanda and Shirman, Tanya and Foucher, Alexandre C. and Stach, Eric A. and Aizenberg, Michael and Aizenberg, Joanna and Friend, Cynthia M and Madix, Robert J}
}
