Selective Cleavage of α-Olefins to Produce Acetylene and Hydrogen

Abstract

Acetylene production from mixed α-olefins emerges as a potentially green and energy-efficient approach with significant scientific value in the selective cleavage of C−C bonds. On the Pd(100) surface, it is experimentally revealed that C 2 to C 4 α-olefins undergo selective thermal cleavage to form surface acetylene and hydrogen. The high selectivity toward acetylene is attributed to the 4-fold hollow sites which are adept at severing the terminal double bonds in α-olefins to produce acetylene. A challenge arises, however, because acetylene tends to stay at the Pd(100) surface. By using the surface alloying methodology with alien Au, the surface Pd dband center has been successfully shifted away from the Fermi level to release surfacegenerated acetylene from α-olefins as a gaseous product. Our study actually provides a technological strategy to economically produce acetylene and hydrogen from αolefins.