Self-oxidation of Au-[Bmim][Cl3] catalyst with enhanced activity and stability for acetylene hydrochlorination

There is great potential for carbon-supported gold catalysts to replace toxic mercuric chloride-based catalysts in the acetylene hydrochlorination, which is a key process for producing PVC . However, the catalyst design is essentially hindered by the difficulties in enhancing the catalytic activity of cationic gold and suppressing the deactivation of active species. We report a strategy for self-oxidation of Au 3+ by the Au-SILP system with the [Bmim][Cl 3 ] ILs. This strategy can stabilize all gold species in the state of highly oxidized Au 3+ instead of coexisting in the Au 3+ /Au + site, which makes the catalyst exhibit excellent catalytic activity. High coordination numbers Au-Cl entities reduce the electron transfer between Au 3+ and C 2 H 2 and weaken the adsorption of C 2 H 2 on the Au active sites. Furthermore, [Bmim][Cl 3 ] ILs can self-oxidize gold nanoparticles on the support surface into Au 3+ . This study provides a new method for improving the stability and activity of gold-based acetylene hydrochlorination catalysts.