Single step synthesis of metal catalysts supported on porous carbon with controlled texture

This paper presents an original preparation method of metal catalysts supported on carbon porous material [1]. Carbon porous materials can be synthesised by evaporative drying and pyrolysis of aqueous resorcinol-formaldehyde gels whose operating, variables are correctly chosen. The porous texture of these materials is mainly controlled by the precursor solution pH. Texture analysis shows that it is possible to tailor the morphology of these materials : indeed, micro-macroporous, micro-mesoporous, microporous or non porous materials can be obtained by varying the pH value in a narrow pH interval. This texture control is slightly influenced by the introduction of a metal in the gel : the limits of the pH interval can slightly differ when a metal salt is added to the resorcinol-formaldehyde aqueous solution. Carbon supported nickel and palladium catalysts prepared by this method have proven to be active for ethylene hydrogenation.