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Updated: Jan 5, 2026

Hydrogen Production and Utilization in a Membrane Reactor
Published on: March 10, 2023
Electrochemically Tunable Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer in Pd-Catalyzed Benzaldehyde Hydrogenation
Katherine Koh1, Udishnu Sanyal1, Mal-Soon Lee1
1Institute for Integrated Catalysis, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, 99352, USA.
Abstract:
Acid functionalization of a carbon support allows to enhance the electrocatalytic activity of Pd to hydrogenate benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol proportional to the concentration of Brønsted-acid sites. In contrast, the hydrogenation rate is not affected when H2 is used as a reduction equivalent. The different responses to the catalyst properties are shown to be caused by differences in the hydrogenation mechanism between the electrochemical and the H2 -induced hydrogenation pathways. The enhancement of electrocatalytic reduction is realized by the participation of support-generated hydronium ions in the proximity of the metal particles.
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