A method to fabricate supported catalytic packing: Polydopamine as a "Double-Sided Adhesive" to prepare the fully covered seeding layer

Background In recent years, Supported catalytic packings (SCPs) with zeolite coating on metallic substrates have received extensive attention due to their satisfactory heat/mass transfer properties. Methods Herein, high-performance SCP with HZSM-5 coating was fabricated by secondary growth method with polydopamine (PDA)-assisted seeding, where PDA was used as a "double-sided adhesive" sandwiched between supports and seeds. The atom-economic reaction of cyclohexene and acetic acid for cyclohexyl acetate production was carried out to evaluate the catalytic performance of as-fabricated SCPs. Significant Findings Due to the strong adhesion of PDA, the uniform and high-coverage seeding layer was achieved under the optimized seeding conditions, then continuous HZSM-5 coating that possessed high crystallinity, rough surface, and intergranular voids was formed. Compared with SCP prepared by secondary growth method with the traditional dip coating seeding method, the catalytic activity and stable operation time of PDA-assisted SCP were increased by 50% and 57%, respectively. Furthermore, PDA-assisted seeding method is easy to conduct, indicating its great potential in practical applications.