Hydrogenation of rosin over PVP-stabilized Pd nanoparticles in aqueous/organic biphasic system

Rosin hydrogenation using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-stabilized Pd colloidal nanoparticles as catalyst in an aqueous/organic biphasic system was investigated. The influence of preparation methods on the size of Pd nanoparticles for hydrogenation of rosin was marked. Compared with traditional catalysts Pd/C and Raney-Ni, PVP-stabilized Pd colloidal nanoparticles showed excellent catalytic activity and promoted formation of the product tetrahydroabietic acid (THAA). More than 93 % rosin was hydrogenated, and the mass fraction of THAA was 54.2 % when the reaction was carried out at 160 °C for 4 h. It was also found that PVP-stabilized Pd colloidal nanoparticles exhibited good reusability for hydrogenation, with no obvious decrease in catalytic performance when reused six times.