High catalytic performance of Al-Pd-(Ru, Fe) icosahedral approximants for acetylene semi-hydrogenation.

Three cubic crystalline icosahedral approximants (C phase: Al 72.0 Pd 16.4 Fe 11.6 , P 40 phase: Al 72.0 Pd 16.4 Ru 11.6 , P 20 phase: Al 70.0 Pd 22.3 Ru 7.7 ) exhibit high ethylene selectivity of over 90% for hydrogenating acetylene at 150 °C. Moreover, the powdered P 20 also demonstrates a high catalytic performance under an industry-like ethylene feed containing 0.5% acetylene as an impurity. Overall, icosahedral approximants in the Al-Pd-(Ru, Fe) systems are promising as a novel class of alloy catalysts.