Unraveling the Structural Sensitivity of Metal Catalysts in Ethylene Hydroformylation: Insights from Theory and Experiments

Ghoshal, Sourav; Yuan, Yong; Ezeakunne, Chidozie; Priyadarsini, Adyasa; Chen, Jingguang G.; Kattel, Shyam

doi:10.1021/acscatal.5c03349

Unraveling the Structural Sensitivity of Metal Catalysts in Ethylene Hydroformylation: Insights from Theory and Experiments

Journal Article · Mon Jul 07 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · ACS Catalysis

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.5c03349· OSTI ID:2574075

^[1]; ^[2]; Ezeakunne, Chidozie ^[3]; ^[1]; Chen, Jingguang G. ^[4]; ^[3]

Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL (United States)
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States)
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Columbia University, New York, NY (United States)

Here, in this study, we combined experimental and theoretical methods to investigate the structural sensitivity of metal catalysts in the ethylene hydroformylation reaction. Among Rh, Pt, Ir, Ni, Au, Ag, Pd, and Cu catalysts studied using experimental and theoretical methods, Rh showed the highest selectivity toward the C-C coupling product from CO and C₂H₅ (i.e., C₂H₅CHO). The results from DFT and microkinetic simulations revealed that the activation energy barrier for C-C coupling is lowest on the Rh nanocluster, which explains the experimentally observed highest C₂H₅CHO selectivity on the Rh catalyst. Furthermore, DFT results demonstrated that the sites located on the flat surfaces of nanoparticles primarily promote the hydrogenation reaction, leading to the formation of undesired C₂H₆. In contrast, undercoordinated edge and corner sites of the nanocluster promote the C-C coupling reaction. Thus, our results illustrate that the selectivity toward C₃ oxygenates in ethylene hydroformylation reaction can be steered by tuning the size of Rh nanoparticles (the best-performing catalyst) to optimize the active (edge and corner) sites that preferentially promote the C-C coupling reaction.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division (CSGB); National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012704; SC0012653

OSTI ID:: 2574075

Report Number(s):: BNL--228468-2025-JAAM

Journal Information:: ACS Catalysis, Journal Name: ACS Catalysis Journal Issue: 14 Vol. 15; ISSN 2155-5435

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
catalysts
ethylene
experiments
hydroformylation
nanoparticles
selectivity
theory

Unraveling the Structural Sensitivity of Metal Catalysts in Ethylene Hydroformylation: Insights from Theory and Experiments

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