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Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotube with Doped Co and N Atoms and its Catalytic Applications in Hydrogen Production
Published on: December 6, 2021
Hydrogenation of dodecanoic acid over niobium oxide-supported Ir-Pd bimetallic nanoparticles
Rin Sotani1, Koichi Higashimine2, Shun Nishimura1,3
1Graduate School of Advanced Science and Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292, Japan. s_nishim@jaist.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Various combinations of Nb2O5-supported Ir-based catalysts (Ir-X/Nb2O5, X = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pd, Sn, and Au) were investigated for an efficient conversion of dodecanoic acid to dodecanol. The Ir and Pd combination, i.e. Ir-Pd/Nb2O5, showed a higher conversion of dodecanoic acid (>90%) with significant selectivity towards dodecanol (>70%) when the Ir : Pd ratio was 50 : 50 and 75 : 25 in comparison with the Nb2O5-supported monometal Ir or Pd catalyst. The synergistic enhancement could be explained by the suppression of Ir aggregation and changes in Ir reduction properties in the presence of adjacent Pd. Based on the survey of various supports including MoO3, SiO2, α-Al2O3, ZrO2, Ta2O5, and Nb2O5 for the Ir-Pd catalysts, it was found that Nb2O5 made a unique contribution to enhancing the catalytic reactivity. It was concluded that both Ir-Pd alloying and electron-rich cation sites of Nb oxide synergistically mediated the hydrogenation of medium-chain fatty acids to the corresponding alcohols.
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