Comparison of supports for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from H2 and O2 using Au–Pd catalysts

The direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from H₂ and O₂ using a range of supported Au–Pd alloy catalysts is compared for different supports using conditions previously identified as being optimal for hydrogen peroxide synthesis, i.e. low temperature (2 °C) using a water–methanol solvent mixture and short reaction time. Five supports are compared and contrasted, namely Al₂O₃, -Fe₂O₃, TiO₂, SiO₂ and carbon. For all catalysts the addition of Pd to the Au only catalyst increases the rate of hydrogen peroxide synthesis as well as the concentration of hydrogen peroxide formed. Of the materials evaluated, the carbon-supported Au–Pd alloy catalysts give the highest reactivity. The results show that the support can have an important influence on the synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from the direct reaction. The effect of the methanol–water solvent is studied in detail for the 2.5 wt% Au–2.5 wt% Pd/TiO₂ catalyst and the ratio of methanol to water is found to have a major effect on the rate of hydrogen peroxide synthesis. The optimum mixture for this solvent system is 80 vol.% methanol with 20 vol.% water. However, the use of water alone is still effective albeit at a decreased rate. The effect of catalyst mass was therefore also investigated for the water and water–methanol solvents and the observed effect on the hydrogen peroxide productivity using water as a solvent is not considered to be due to mass transfer limitations. These results are of importance with respect to the industrial application of these Au–Pd catalysts.     

Formation of active state in vanadium–titanium oxide system regarding to reaction of oxidation of β-picoline to nicotinic acid

Binary vanadia–titania catalysts comprising 5–75 wt.% of V₂O₅ and 95–25 wt.% of TiO₂, pretreated at the temperature ranging between 300 and 700°C, were studied as heterogeneous catalysts for oxidation of β-picoline at 250°C, and inlet concentrations of the following components (vol.%): 1% of 3-picoline, 20% of oxygen, 30% of steam. Nicotinic acid, 3-pyridinecarbaldehyde and CO₂ were the reaction products. The most active state for oxidation of 3-picoline into nicotinic acid was shown to result from formation of coherent interface between V₂O₅ and TiO₂ (anatase) crystallites. This state was generated at the temperature particular for each composition and persists below the temperature of the anatase to rutile transition.     

Production of hydrogen for fuel cells by steam reforming of ethanol over supported noble metal catalysts

The catalytic performance of supported noble metal catalysts for the steam reforming (SR) of ethanol has been investigated in the temperature range of 600–850 °C with respect to the nature of the active metallic phase (Rh, Ru, Pt, Pd), the nature of the support (Al₂O₃, MgO, TiO₂) and the metal loading (0–5 wt.%). It is found that for low-loaded catalysts, Rh is significantly more active and selective toward hydrogen formation compared to Ru, Pt and Pd, which show a similar behavior. The catalytic performance of Rh and, particularly, Ru is significantly improved with increasing metal loading, leading to higher ethanol conversions and hydrogen selectivities at given reaction temperatures. The catalytic activity and selectivity of high-loaded Ru catalysts is comparable to that of Rh and, therefore, ruthenium was further investigated as a less costly alternative. It was found that, under certain reaction conditions, the 5% Ru/Al₂O₃ catalyst is able to completely convert ethanol with selectivities toward hydrogen above 95%, the only byproduct being methane. Long-term tests conducted under severe conditions showed that the catalyst is acceptably stable and could be a good candidate for the production of hydrogen by steam reforming of ethanol for fuel cell applications.     

Supported gold catalysis derived from the interaction of a Au–phosphine complex with as-precipitated titanium hydroxide and titanium oxide

Supported gold catalysts derived from interaction of a Au–phosphine complex Au(PPh₃)(NO₃) (1) with conventional titanium oxide TiO₂ and as-precipitated titanium hydroxide (*, as-precipitated) have been characterized by means of XRD, XPS, EXAFS, and CP/MAS–NMR. The Au complex 1 was supported on TiO₂ and without loss of Au–P bonding at room temperature. The Au complex 1 on TiO₂ was readily and completely decomposed to form metallic gold particles by calcination at 473 K, whereas only a small part of the complex 1 on was transformed to metallic gold particles. By calcination of 1/ at 573 K the formation of both metallic gold particles and crystalline titanium oxides became notable as evidenced by XRD, XPS and CP/MAS–NMR. The mean diameter of Au particles in 1/ calcined at 673 K was less than 30 Å as estimated from Au(2 0 0) diffraction, which was about one-tenth of that for the corresponding 1/TiO₂. Thus the as-precipitated titanium hydroxide was able to stabilize the Au complex 1 to lead to the simultaneous decomposition of Au complex and . The catalyst 1/ calcined at 673 K afforded remarkably high catalytic activity for low-temperature CO oxidation at 273–373 K as compared to the catalyst 1/TiO₂.     

Effect of solvo-thermal treatment temperature on the properties of sol–gel ZrO2–TiO2 mixed oxides as HDS catalyst supports

ZrO₂–TiO₂ mixed oxide (30–70 mol/mol) was prepared by low-temperature sol–gel followed by solvo-thermal treatment (1 day) at various temperatures (40, 80, 120, 160 and 200 °C). Selected samples of the corresponding single oxides were also prepared. Materials characterization was carried out by N₂ physisorption, XRD, thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and UV–vis DRS, infra-red and Laser-Raman spectroscopies. Binary solids of enhanced pore volume and pore size diameter were obtained by increasing the post-treatment severity. Anatase TiO₂ micro-segregation was evidenced by Raman spectroscopy for the mixed oxide solvo-treated at the highest temperature. This solid also showed the highest crystallization temperature to ZrTiO₄ (702 °C). Mo impregnated (2.8 atom nm⁻²) on various mixed oxides was sulfided under H₂S/H₂ (400 °C, 1 h), the catalysts being tested in the dibenzothiophene hydrodesulfurization (HDS, T = 320 °C, P = 5.59 MPa). By increasing the severity of the solvo-treatment improved supports for MoS₂ phase were obtained. The HDS activity of the catalyst with carrier post-treated at 200 °C was 40% higher (in per total mass basis) than that of sulfided Mo supported on the binary oxide solvo-treated at 80 °C. The ZrO₂–TiO₂-supported catalysts showed higher selectivity to products from the hydrogenation route than their counterparts supported on either single oxide.     

A comparative study of TiO2 supported noble metal catalysts for the oxidation of formaldehyde at room temperature

The TiO₂ supported noble metal (Au, Rh, Pd and Pt) catalysts were prepared by impregnation method and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET. These catalysts were tested for the catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde (HCHO). It was found that the order of activity was Pt/TiO₂  Rh/TiO₂ > Pd/TiO₂ > Au/TiO₂  TiO₂. HCHO could be completely oxidized into CO₂ and H₂O over Pt/TiO₂ in a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 50,000 h⁻¹ even at room temperature. In contrast, the other catalysts were much less effective for HCHO oxidation at the same reaction conditions. HCHO conversion to CO₂ was only 20% over the Rh/TiO₂ at 20 °C. The Pd/TiO₂ and Au/TiO₂ showed no activities for HCHO oxidation at 20 °C. The different activities of the noble metals for HCHO oxidation were studied with respect to the behavior of adsorbed species on the catalysts surface at room temperature using in situ DRIFTS. The results show that the activities of the TiO₂ supported Pt, Rh, Pd and Au catalysts for HCHO oxidation are closely related to their capacities for the formation of formate species and the formate decomposition into CO species. Based on in situ DRIFTS studies, a simplified reaction scheme of HCHO oxidation was also proposed.     

Selective oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde over V–Mg–O catalysts

The results of a complex investigation of V–Mg–O catalysts for oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of methanol are presented. The efficiency of vanadium–magnesium oxide catalysts in production of formaldehyde has been evaluated. Strong dependence of the formaldehyde yield and selectivity upon vanadium oxide loading and the conditions of heat treatment of the catalyst were observed. The parameters of the preparation mode for the efficient catalyst were identified. In optimised reaction conditions the V–Mg–O catalysts at the temperature approximate 450 °C ensured the formation of formaldehyde with the yield of 94% at the selectivity of 97%.

No visible changes in the performance of the catalyst (methanol conversion, formaldehyde yield and selectivity) were detected during the 60 h of operation in prolonged runs. Characterization of the catalyst by XRD, IR, and UV methods suggests the formation of species of the pyrovanadate type (Mg₂V₂O₇) with irregular structure on the surface of a V–Mg–O catalyst. These species make the catalyst efficient for methanol ODH.     

Kinetics of PdO combustion catalysis

The kinetics of the catalytic combustion of methane by supported palladium oxide catalysts (2 wt.-% Pd/La₂O₃·11A1₂O₃ and 5 wt.-%Pd/ γ-A1₂0₃ were examined for several oxygen partial pressure levels over the temperature range from 40–900°C using temperature-programmed reaction and slow ramp and hold temperature-time transient techniques. Combustion rates were measured by differential reaction in a fixed bed of powdered catalyst at lower temperatures (200–500°C). Also, by preparing the catalysts as thin (ca. 10 μm) coatings on an alumina tube and conducting the experiments with very high flows of dilute methane and oxygen in helium, the rate measurements were extended up to 900°C without significant contribution from gas phase reactions. The specific combustion activity of supported PdO shows a persistent hysteresis between 450 and 750°C, i.e., the rate of combustion between these temperature limits depends strongly on whether the catalyst is cooling from above 750°C or heating from below 450°C. This region is also notable for negative apparent activation energy in the rate of methane oxidation, i.e., the rate increases with decreasing temperature during reoxidation of the Pd metal and decreases with increasing temperature (especially with low oxygen partial pressure) prior to decomposition of the bulk oxide. Detailed time-temperature transient kinetic analyses were performed for supported PdO catalysts within the 450–750°C temperature range. The hysteresis in methane combustion rate is caused by a higher activation energy for reduction of oxygen chemisorbed on metallic Pd and by suppressed reoxidation of Pd metal relative to PdO decomposition.     

Alumina supported cobalt–palladium catalysts for the reduction of NO by methane in stationary sources

In order to improve a “Three Function Catalysts Model”, the present paper deals with alumina based catalysts containing cobalt and palladium for the NO reduction by methane.

The deNO_x temperature window was estimated by adsorption and subsequent desorption of NO in lean conditions. Two NO_x desorption peaks were detected for both catalysts. For Pd(0.63)Co(0.58)/Al₂O₃, the two desorption peaks appeared at 205 and 423 °C, whereas for Pd(0.14)Co(0.57)/Al₂O₃, the maxima desorption temperature peaks were at 205 and 487 °C. In addition, NO oxidation was also studied to evaluate the catalyst first function. It was found that, the oxidation begins on Co–Pd/Al₂O₃ around 250 °C. On Pd(0.63)Co(0.58)/Al₂O₃, 8% of deNO_x were found in the range of the second NO_x desorption peak temperature (410 °C). During TPSR, C_xH_yO_z species such as formaldehyde were detected. These oxygenate species are the reactive intermediate for deNO_x by methane.     

HDS and HDN activity of molybdenum and nickel–molybdenum catalysts supported on alumina–titania carriers

Alumina–titania supports containing 5–50 wt.% of TiO₂ were prepared by coprecipitation method using inorganic precursors (sodium aluminate and titanium chloride). DTA-TGA, XRD, SEM, TPD_NH3, and IR spectroscopy were used to characterise these materials. The study shows that the promoting effect of nickel on the HDS activity of molybdenum catalysts supported on Al₂O₃TiO₂ is significantly lower than that for molybdenum catalyst supported on Al₂O₃, and depends on the TiO₂ content. The SEM results show that in the case of rich Al support (20 wt.% of TiO₂) molybdenum was aggregated on the external surface of the catalyst, whereas it was uniformly dispersed on the external surface of alumina. Results also show that molybdenum is preferably supported on aluminum oxide. Application of Al₂O₃TiO₂ oxides enhances the HDN activity of nickel–molybdenum catalysts. The highest HDN efficiency was obtained for the NiMo/Al₂O₃TiO₂ catalyst containing 50 wt.% of TiO₂. HDN activity was found to depend on protonic acidity and anatase content.     

Studies on structural properties, surface acidity and benzene isopropylation activity of sulphated ZrO2–TiO2 mixed oxide catalysts

A series of sulphated ZrO₂–TiO₂ mixed oxide with different nominal sulphate loadings in the range of 2–15 wt.% was prepared and characterized for their structural properties, surface acidity and benzene isopropylation activity. The catalyst with 10 wt.% nominal sulphate loading showed highest surface area and uniform pore size distributions. Surface acidity, measured by NH₃–TPD method, showed increase in acidity with sulphate loading and the 10 wt.% sulphate loaded catalyst showed highest acidity. The activities of these catalysts were tested for isopropylation of benzene to cumene using 2-propanol as the alkylating agent. The 10 wt.% sulphate-loaded catalyst also showed highest activity for this reaction with 97% cumene selectivity. The higher activity of this catalyst was attributed to its higher acidity.     

Fischer–Tropsch synthesis using monolithic catalysts

Square channel cordierite monoliths have been loaded with alumina washcoat layers of various thicknesses (20–110 μm) and loaded with rhenium and cobalt resulting in a 0.1 wt.% Re/17 wt.% Co/Al₂O₃ catalyst. These monolithic catalysts have been tested in the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis in a temperature window (180–225 °C) under synthesis gas compositions ranging from stoichiometrically excess carbon monoxide to excess hydrogen (H₂/CO = 1–3). The results include data on the activity and selectivity of CoRe/Al₂O₃ monolithic catalysts for FTS under these process conditions. Washcoat layers thicker than about 50 μm appear to lead to internal diffusion limitations. Thinner washcoat layers yield, depending on the conditions, to larger amounts of -olefins than alkanes for chain lengths below 10 carbon atoms. ASF and non-ASF chain length distributions are obtained for thin washcoats, whereby the chain growth probability increases from 0.83 to 0.93. Under certain conditions the amounts of alkanes even increase with chain length. These experimental results with different diffusion lengths have been used to analyze the effects of secondary reactions on FTS selectivity.     

Enthalpy recovery of gases issued from H2 production processes: Activity and stability of oxide and noble metal catalysts in oxidation reaction under highly severe conditions

Oxidation activity and stability under reaction was investigated for a series of mixed oxide catalysts, doped or not by a precious metal (Pd, Pt). The reaction feedstock, containing CO, H₂, CH₄, CO₂ and H₂O, simulated gases issued from H₂ production processes for fuel cells. Contrarily to conventional noble metal catalysts, mixed oxide samples present generally good stability under reaction at high temperature. The activities measured for the perovskite and hexaaluminate catalysts, are however largely lower than that of the reference Pd/Al₂O₃ catalyst. High activities were obtained after impregnation of 1.1 wt.% Pd or 0.8 wt.% Pt on the hexaaluminates samples. Even if Pd/Al₂O₃ was found to present a high activity, this sample suffered from drastic deactivation at 700 °C. Better stability were obtained on perovskite. Furthermore, doping hexaaluminate by Pt led to samples with good activities and high stability. Even if better activities were obtained by doping the hexaaluminate samples by Pd, the Pd/BaAl₁₂O₁₉ strongly deactivated, as it was previously observed for the reference catalyst. Interestingly, this Pd deactivation was not observed when Pd was impregnated on the Mn substituted hexaaluminate, leading to a stable and active catalyst. This suggests that it is possible to stabilize the palladium in its oxidized form at high temperature (700 °C) on the surface of some supports.     

Two conversion maxima at 373 and 573 K in the reduction of nitrogen monoxide with hydrogen over Pd/TiO2 catalyst

Supporting Pt and Pd catalysts have been examined for the reduction of NO with H₂ in the presence of oxygen and moisture. All catalysts showed a conversion maximum in the NO reduction at around 373 K. An additional conversion maximum was found to appear at around 573 K over several metal oxides supporting Pd, and Pd/TiO₂ gave the highest conversion at around 573 K among the catalysts tested. In the reaction at 373 K, NO might be reduced directly by H₂ both on Pt and Pd catalysts to give N₂ and N₂O. At the conversion maximum of the Pd/TiO₂ catalyst at 575 K, however, in situ generated NO₂ seems to react with H₂.     

Kinetics of carbon oxide evolution in temperature-programmed oxidation of carbonaceous laydown deposited on wet oxidation catalysts

The combustion kinetics of coke laydown on wet oxidation catalysts was studied by means of temperature-programmed oxidation and mass spectrometry within the temperature range (30–600°C). The coke deposits were formed over three different catalysts 1 wt.% Pt/Al₂O₃, MnO₂/CeO₂ and 1 wt.% Pt–MnO₂/CeO₂ during phenol deep oxidation in a three-phase slurry reactor at various reaction conditions (exposure time, temperature, oxygen pressure, catalyst loading). The carbon oxides, oxygen and water fluxes arising from the combustion of the carbonaceous deposits in a 5% O₂/He mixture, were continuously monitored. In all cases, unimodal quasi-Gaussian distributions were obtained for CO₂ while no CO was detected. These evolutions were successfully described by a modified “fractal power-law” grain model. The coke-dependence of the carbon dioxide profiles was related to the fractal dimension of the catalyst surface and to the oxygen partial order during coke burn-off. The corresponding change in O₂ partial order was ascribed to competition between three steps in the combustion mechanism: non-dissociative O₂ chemisorption, interaction of oxygen with undissociated dioxygen bearing surface species, physical desorption of the complex oxide as carbon dioxide.     

Effect of synthetic reducing agents on morphology and ORR activity of carbon-supported nano-Pd–Co alloy electrocatalysts

Three different reducing agents, ethylene glycol (EG), formaldehyde (HCHO), and sodium borohydrate (NaBH₄), were used in the synthesis of carbon-supported Pd–Co catalysts (Pd–Co/C–EG, Pd–Co/C–HCHO, and Pd–Co/C–NaBH₄, respectively). The differences among these three catalysts in morphology and electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were observed and characterized using X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, transmission electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectra, surface cyclic voltametry, and rotating disk electrode technique. It was observed that by using a mild reducing agent such as EG, well-controlled and homogenous nucleation and growth could be achieved during the catalyst synthesis. With respect to the morphology and ORR activity of synthesized catalysts, the order of preferred reducing agents was found to be EG > NaBH₄ > HCHO. In order to improve activity and stability, the catalysts were heat-treated at temperatures ranging from 300 °C to 700 °C. It was found that for all three Pd–Co/C catalysts, a temperature of 300 °C gave the best catalyst morphology and ORR activity. The investigation in ORR kinetics catalyzed by these three catalysts revealed that all three could catalyze a four-electron reduction of oxygen to produce water. The average Tafel slope of the catalyzed ORR was found to be 70 mV/dec, suggesting that the determining step in the mechanism is a one-electron transfer process. In an effort to validate the theoretical explanation, the ORR activity as a function of particle size, Pd lattice constant, and Pd–Pd bond distance of the three Pd–Co/C catalysts was also investigated. In addition, in the case of EG as reducing agent the impregnation–reduction method employed in this work was simplified, because the need for a stabilizing agent usage was removed and water was used as the solvent.     

Supported base metal catalysts for the preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide in the presence of excess hydrogen (PROX)

Supported base metal catalysts were tested for the preferential oxidation of CO (CO PROX). The catalysts we investigated covered a wide range of transition metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn) supported on oxides with very different acidic, basic and redox properties (MgO, La₂O₃, SiO₂–Al₂O₃, CeO₂, Ce_0.63Zr_0.37O₂). The influence of the metal loading (Cu), the support properties (acidity, basicity, redox, surface area) and the reaction conditions (reaction temperature, feed composition) on the catalyst activity and selectivity was evaluated. The activity of ceria and ceria–zirconia supported copper catalysts was comparable to the performances of noble metal samples classically used for the PROX reaction. In addition, Cu–CeO₂ catalysts showed a practically constant and high selectivity towards CO oxidation in the temperature range of 50–150 °C. Due to the strong synergetic effect between copper and ceria, only a small amount of copper (0.3 wt.%) was necessary to get an active catalyst. The best catalytic performances were obtained for the samples containing 1–3 wt.% copper. The presence of small copper particles in close interaction with the ceria support was shown to be responsible for the enhanced activity. Except for the hydrogen oxidation, no parallel reactions (CO or CO₂ methanation reactions, coking, RWGS) could be detected over these catalysts. Classically, an increase of the oxygen excess led to an increased CO conversion with a simultaneous loss of selectivity towards CO₂. Finally, the presence of CO₂ in the feed negatively affected the catalytic activity. This effect was attributed to the adsorption of CO₂ on the copper sites, probably as CO.     

Gold catalysts supported on mesoporous zirconia for low-temperature water–gas shift reaction

Mesoporous ZrO₂ with high surface area and uniform pore size distribution, synthesized by surfactant templating through a neutral [C₁₃(EO)₆–Zr(OC₃H₇)₄] assembly pathway, was used as a support of gold catalysts prepared by deposition–precipitation method. The supports and the catalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, N₂ adsorption analysis, temperature programmed reduction and desorption. The catalytic activity of gold supported on mesoporous zirconia was evaluated in water–gas shift (WGS) reaction at wide temperature range (140–300 °C) and at different space velocities and H₂O/CO ratios. The catalytic behaviour and the reasons for а reversible deactivation of Au/mesoporous zirconia catalysts were studied. The influence of gold content and particle size on the catalytic performance was investigated. The WGS activity of the new Au/mesoporous zirconia catalyst was compared to the reference Au/TiO₂ type A (World Gold Council), revealing significantly higher catalytic activity of Au/mesoporous zirconia catalyst. It is found that the mesoporous zirconia is a very efficient support of gold-based catalyst for the WGS reaction.     

Effect of sulfate ions for sol–gel synthesis of titania photocatalyst

We have found that the use of sulfuric acid in the peptization process of sol–gel method produced SO₄²⁻-incorporated TiO₂ which is mechanically strong by firing at low temperature such as 200°C. The synthesized TiO₂ has larger specific surface area and retards the phase transition from anatase to rutile compared with that prepared from the peptization with nitric acid. The S-content of the TiO₂ fired at 200°C was 1.52 wt.%; the value has a maximum of 2.74 wt.% at 400°C. The XPS measurements indicate that S exists mainly as SO₄²⁻. The TiO₂ fired at 400°C showed the highest photocatalytic activity for ethylene degradation. Especially, we would like to emphasize the TiO₂ sintered at 200°C because they are extremely hard in spite of such a low sintering temperature. This photocatalyst may provide a great opportunity for extensive applications as self-supporting membranes.     

Origin of transient species present on the surface of a PdO/γ-Al2O3 catalyst during the methane combustion reaction

Operando DRIFTS was applied to the study of the evolution of surface species formed on a Pd (2 wt.%)/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst in various conditions. No differences were observed as a function of the initial oxidation state of palladium. Formates/carbonates species were identified at low temperature (<400 °C) and disappeared when CO₂ production started. These species come from the Pd-catalyzed interaction of CO with the alumina support, while CO₂ induces hydrogenocarbonates formation at low temperature (<300 °C). Their presence does not explain the inhibiting effect of CO₂ observed in CCM on Pd/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts.