Palladium-based carbon catalysts (Pd/C) can be potentially applied as an efficient catalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura and Mizoroki–Heck coupling reactions. Herein, a variety of catalysts of palladium on activated carbon were prepared by varying the content of ‘Pd’ via an in situ reduction method, using hydrogen as a reducing agent. The as-prepared catalysts (0.5 wt % Pd/C, 1 wt % Pd/C, 2 wt % Pd/C and 3 wt % Pd/C) were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyses. The catalysts were tested as a coupling catalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions involving aryl halides and phenyl boronic acid. The optimization of the catalyst by varying the palladium content on the activated carbon yielded Pd/C catalysts with very high catalytic activity for Suzuki reactions of aryl halides and a Mizoroki–Heck cross-coupling reaction of 4-bromoanisol and acrylic acid in an aqueous medium. A high ‘Pd’ content and uniform ‘Pd’ impregnation significantly affected the activity of the catalysts. The catalytic activity of 3% Pd/C was found to make it a more efficient catalyst when compared with the other synthesized Pd/C catalysts. Furthermore, the catalyst reusability was also tested for Suzuki reactions by repeatedly performing the same reaction using the recovered catalyst. The 3% Pd/C catalyst displayed better reusability even after several reactions.

Although supported bimetallic nanoparticles (Au-Pd NPs) demonstrate outstanding efficiency, challenges appear for carbon supported small and stable bimetallic nanoparticles used in liquid-phase reactions. In this work, Au-Pd NPs were supported on two types of carbon nanotubes: CNTs decorated covalently with carboxylic acid groups (O-CNTs) and non-covalently with the conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) polymer (P-CNTs). The Au-Pd NPs were prepared using the sol immobilization approach on the functionalized CNTs, and the effect of the utilized functionalization method on the properties of the immobilized metallic nanoparticles and the performance of the nanocomposite catalysts was investigated. The fabricated nanocomposites were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The catalytic performance of Au-Pd/O-CNTs and Au-Pd/P-CNTs was exploited for the oxidation of both cyclooctene and benzyl alcohol. Oxidation and polymer decoration directly led to an enhancement in the performance of CNTs catalysts. The nanocomposite catalyst with oxidized CNTs (Au-Pd/O-CNTs) was also found to be much more efficient and robust than that with polymer decorated CNTs (Au-Pd/P-CNTs). The enhancement in the oxidation of both cyclooctene and benzyl alcohol on Au-Pd/O-CNTs is attributed to the well-dispersed and smaller Au-Pd NPs as active sites on the surface of O-CNTs as compared to the P-CNTs surface.

Corrosion protection of aluminum in 2 mol/L H₂SO₄ solution is examined in the presence of ortho-substituted aniline derivatives using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. Density function theory (DFT) calculations are performed to investigate the aluminum–electrolyte interface relationship in the absence and presence of both ortho-substituted aniline derivatives and sulphate anions, as well as their roles in the protection efficiency at the atomic level. Our results show that ortho-aniline derivatives are good inhibitors and that their efficiencies improved as the concentration increased. SEM–EDX analysis is used to confirm the adsorption thermodynamics of the studied compounds on the aluminum surface. The best inhibitory effect is exhibits in the presence of the methyl group in ortho-position followed by ortho-carboxilic compared to aniline. The adsorption of these compounds on the aluminum surface is well described by Langmuir adsorption isotherm as well as the experimental and the theoretical adosrption energies are in a good agreement. DFT calculations also show that the interaction between the inhibitors and the aluminum surface is mainly electrostatic and depends on the type of the ortho-substituted group in addition to the sulphate anions.

The use of metal oxides as supports for palladium and copper (Pd–Cu) nanoalloys constitutes a new horizon for improving new active catalysts in very important reactions. From the literatures, Pd-based bimetallic nanostructures have great properties and active catalytic performance. In this work, nanostructures of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) were used as supports for Pd–Cu nanoparticles catalysts. Palladium and copper were deposited on these supports using the sol-immobilisation method. The composite nanoalloys were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalyst was evaluated for the oxidation of benzyl alcohol. The effect of the Cu–Pd ratio using sol-immobilization methods supported on TiO₂ was investigated. The results show that monometallic Cu/TiO₂ was observed to have a low activity. However, as soon as the catalyst contained any palladium, the activity increased with a significant increase in the selectivity towards isomerization products. The influence of support and temperature were investigated. Furthermore, the catalyst reusability was also tested for oxidation of benzyl alcohol reactions, by repeatedly performing the same reaction using the recovered catalyst. The Pd–Cu/TiO₂ catalyst displayed better reusability even after several reactions

This study presents findings on the chemical synthesis of activated carbon from Saudi dates and its structural, chemical, and catalytic properties. Dates are among the top biowaste materials in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and efforts are underway to utilize this resource. A chemical pyrolysis method was used to synthesize activated carbon from date stones. Synthesized activated carbon was calcined at different temperatures of 400, 500, 600, and 700 °C, and the impact of calcination temperature on the properties of activated carbon was investigated. For this purpose, contemporary characterization tools, namely, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, TEM, TGA, DSC, and XPS, were employed. Results are discussed and compared with associated studies. Finally, the catalytic activity of gold-deposited activated carbon for the oxidation of cycloalkenes was evaluated, and it was found that the calcination temperature has a linear positive relationship with the catalytic activity.