Catalytic investigation of rhodium nanoparticles in hydrogenation of benzene and phenylacetylene

Nanoparticles of rhodium embedded in polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), as catalyst, were investigated in the hydrogenation of different substrates (benzene, phenylacetylene, norbornene, quinoline, adiponitrile). The solid was used as a heterogeneous catalyst or as a soluble heterogeneous catalyst in biphasic conditions (liquid/liquid) when the catalyst was dissolved in water. In both cases., the kinetics of the catalytic reaction were found to be zero-order in respect to the substrate and first-order with respect to hydrogen and catalyst. The higher hydrogenation reaction rate was found for benzene by using biphasic conditions. The [Rh-PVP] catalyst has shown an efficient activity for the catalytic hydrogenation of norbornene, quinoline and adiponitrile into norbornane, tetrahydroquinoline and 6-aminocapronitrile. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.