High performance of metal modified Pd catalyst for hydrodechlorination of chlorophenols to cyclohexanone

The catalytic hydrodechlorination (HDC) of chlorophenols (CPs) to high-value and more eco-friendly cyclohexanone is attractive for the treatment of wastewater. The HDC performance of Pd catalyst can be improved by the modification with an appropriate element. La modification on Pd/CNTs catalyst, would provide solid Lewis acid, promote the active Pd dispersion, and induce the partial oxidation of Pd, minimizing the apparent activation energy of phenol during HDC greatly. A broad scope of CPs was degraded completely at mild conditions over Pd–La(1:1)/CNTs catalyst, with the deep hydrogenation of phenol (> 99.5%) and high selectivity of cyclohexanone (cyclohexanone yield > 68%). Moreover, this new La modified Pd/CNTs catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic stability, making it to be a promising candidate for hydrodechlorination of wastewater containing CPs.