Total Oxidation of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons on A1–xSrxMnO3 Perovskite‐Type Oxide Catalysts – Part II: Catalytic Activity

The influence of the kind of A‐site cation in A_1–xSr_xMnO₃ perovskites (A = La, Pr, Nd, Di [didymium]) on the catalytic activity in the total oxidation of methane, chloromethane, dichloromethane, and trichloroethylene has been studied. In contrast to methane, the total oxidation of chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHC) is connected with a reversible catalyst deactivation and the formation of byproducts at low reaction temperatures. For the catalysts calcined at 600 and 800 °C, resp., the catalytic activity is determined mainly by specific surface area, amount of oxide admixtures and crystallinity of the perovskite. DiMnO₃ showed the highest and PrMnO₃ catalysts the lowest catalytic activity in the total oxidation of methane and CHC. Partial substitution of A by Sr leads to an enhancement of the catalytic activity in the total oxidation of methane, but not in the total oxidation of CHC.     

Recent Advances on TiO2‐ZrO2 Mixed Oxides as Catalysts and Catalyst Supports

This is the first review of titanium dioxide‐zirconium dioxide (TiO₂‐ZrO₂) mixed oxides, which are frequently employed as catalysts and catalyst supports. In this review many details pertaining to the synthesis of these mixed oxides by various conventional and nonconventional methods and their characterization by several techniques, as reported in the literature, are assessed. These mixed oxides have been synthesized by different preparative analogies and were extensively characterized by employing various spectroscopic and nonspectroscopic techniques. The TiO₂‐ZrO₂ mixed oxides are also extensively used as supports with metals, nonmetals, and metal oxides for various catalytic applications. These supported catalysts have also been thoroughly investigated by different techniques. The influence of TiO₂‐ZrO₂ on the dispersion and surface structure of the supported active components as examined by various techniques in the literature has been contemplated. A variety of reactions catalyzed by TiO₂‐ZrO₂ and supported titania‐zirconia mixed oxides, namely; dehydrogenation, decomposition of chlorofluoro carbons (CFCs), alcohols from epoxides, synthesis of ?‐caprolactam, partial oxidation, deep oxidation, hydrogenation, hydroprocessing, organic transformations, NO_x abatement, and photo catalytic VOC oxidations that have been pursued in the literature are presented with relevant references.     

Microemulsion-Aided Synthesis of Nanosized Perovskite-Type SrCoO<Subscript>x</Subscript> Catalysts

Abstract  

Nanostructured perovskite-type SrCoO_x catalysts were prepared using a w/o-microemulsion as a soft template. Conventional co-precipitation and citric acid sol–gel were used as reference methods with regard to surface and bulk physico-chemical properties as well as catalytic performance in methane oxidation. The solids were characterised by XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX, N₂-physisorption, TG-DTA-MS, ICP-OES, and H₂-TPR techniques. The phase transformation temperature of the microemulsion-templated perovskites is by 150 K lower than that in the conventionally prepared ones. Therefore, this material is characterized by smaller crystallite sizes and higher surface areas. As result, it shows a higher activity in oxidative coupling of methane as compared to sol–gel and co-precipitated catalysts. The properties of the catalysts are weakly influenced by changing the specific synthesis parameters of the microemulsions.     

Isotopic Studies of Sn-Cr Binary Oxide Catalysts for Methane Total Oxidation

A series of Sn-Cr binary oxide catalysts were prepared by a co-current co-precipitation method and tested for methane total oxidation. The binary oxide catalysts have much higher surface areas and catalytic activities for methane oxidation than pure SnO₂. CrO _x /SnO₂ with a Cr/Sn atomic ratio of 3:7 displays the highest activity. Selected samples were subjected to temperature-programmed ¹⁸O isotope-exchange measurements. Both complete and partial heteromolecular ¹⁸O isotope exchange, as well as oxygen release, was observed for all catalysts. Reaction between CH₄ and ¹⁸O₂ under static conditions was performed to investigate the reaction mechanism and it was found that the total oxidation of methane over Sn-Cr binary oxide catalysts occurs via a redox cycle with the chromium ion in a high oxidation state as the active center. Oxygen mobility of the catalyst plays an important role in the total oxidation of methane, but too high a mobility leads to very high oxygen release and a reduction of the surface reoxidability. This causes a decrease in the catalytic oxidation activity.     

Comparative studies on direct conversion of methane to methanol/formaldehyde over La–Co–O and ZrO2 supported molybdenum oxide catalysts

The selective oxidation of methane with molecular oxygen over MoO_x/La–Co–O and MoO_x/ZrO₂ catalysts to methanol/formaldehyde has been investigated in a specially designed high-pressure continuous-flow reactor. The properties of the catalysts, such as crystal phase, structure, reducibility, ion oxidation state, surface composition and the specific surface area have been characterized with the use of XRD, LRS, TPR, XPS and BET methods. MoO_x/La–Co–O catalysts showed high selectivity to methanol formation while MoO_x/ZrO₂ revealed the property for the formation of formaldehyde in the selective oxidation of methane. 7 wt MoO_x/La–Co–O catalyst gave 6.7 methanol yield (ca. 60 methanol selectivity) at 420°C and 4.2 MPa. On the other hand, the maximal yield of formaldehyde ca. 4 (47.8 formaldehyde selectivity) was obtained over 12wt MoO_x/ZrO₂ catalyst at 400 °C and 5.0MPa. 7MoO_x/La–Co–O catalyst showed higher modified H₂-consumption than 12MoO_x/ZrO₂ catalyst. The reducibility and the O^–/O^2– ratio of the catalysts may play important roles on the catalytic performance. The proper reducibility and the O^–/O^2– ratio enhanced the production of methanol in selective oxidation of methane. [MoO₄]^2– species in MoO_x/ZrO₂ catalysts enable selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde.     

Catalytic Methanation of Carbon Dioxide by Active Oxygen Material CexZr1−xO2 Supported Ni?Co Bimetallic Nanocatalysts

A series of active oxygen material Ce_xZr_1?xO₂‐supported Ni? Co bimetallic nanosized catalysts were prepared by coprecipitation method, which is simple and fit for industrial use with lower cost than other methods. The effect of CeO₂/ZrO₂ mole ratio, Co metal addition, and PEG‐6000 addition were investigated. The catalysts were characterized through X‐ray diffraction, H₂ thermal‐programmed reduction, N₂ adsorption, Raman spectroscopy, CO pulse chemisorption, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, oxygen storage capacity, and transmission electron microscopy‐energy dispersive X‐ray analysis. Modifications of the structural and redox properties of these materials were evaluated in relation to their catalytic performances. Particularly, the relationship between the active oxygen sites of the catalysts and their catalytic performances was investigated. The interaction between active metals (Ni and Co) and Ce_xZr_1?xO₂ support was found to be very important for catalytic performance. The active oxygen site of Ce_xZr_1?xO₂ can considerably improve catalytic performance. Appropriate Co metal addition also remarkably enhanced the catalytic stability and activity. Moreover, PEG‐6000 addition can improve the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area and active metal dispersion of catalysts to improve their performances. The nanosized catalyst 15 wt % Ni‐5 wt % Co/Ce_0.25Zr_0.75O₂ prepared by adding 5 wt % PEG‐6000 achieved almost 85% CO₂ conversion and 98% selectivity to methane at 280°C when the gas hourly space velocity was 10,000 h^?1. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 2567–2576, 2013     

Catalytic combustion of benzene over supported metal oxides catalysts

Catalytic combustion of benzene over supported metal oxides has been investigated. The catalysts have been prepared by incipient wetness method and characterized by XRD, FT-Raman, ESR and TPR. Among supported metal oxides, CuO_x, supported on TiO₂ is found to have the highest activity for benzene oxidation. In addition, among the catalysts of copper oxide supported on TiO₂, A1₂O₃ and SiO₂, titania-supported catalyst (CuO_x/TiO₂) gives the highest catalytic activity. CuO_x/TiO₂ (Cu loading 5.5 wt%) shows the total oxidation of benzene at about 250 °C. From the ESR and FT-Raman results, the CuO dispersed on the TiO₂ surface acts as an active site of CuO_x/TiO₂ catalysts on the oxidative decomposition of benzene. The catalytic activity gradually increases with an increase of Cu loading on TiO₂. When Cu loading reaches 5.5 wt%, the total conversion temperature is lowered to 300 °C. However, the catalytic activity considerably decreases at 7 wt% Cu loading. The catalytic activity increased with an increase of oxygen concentration but the concentration of benzene showed no difference in the benzene conversion. This result suggests that the rate determining step is the adsorption of oxygen.     

Effect of support on the conversion of methane to synthesis gas over supported iridium catalysts

A partial oxidation of methane was carried out using iridium catalysts supported on several metal oxides. The productivity of the synthesis gas from methane was strongly affected by the choice of support oxides for the catalysts. The synthesis gas production proceeded basically via a two-step reaction consisting of methane combustion to give H₂O and CO₂, followed by the reforming of methane from CO₂ and steam. Although the combustion and the reforming of methane from steam did not depend upon the catalyst support, a large variation in the catalytic activity for the reforming of methane from CO₂ was observed over Ir catalysts with different supports. The support activity order in the reforming of methane from CO₂ with iridium catalysts was as follows: TiO₂≧ZrO₂≧Y₂O₃>La₂O₃>MgO≧Al₂O₃>SiO₂. The same order was observed in the synthesis gas production from the partial oxidation of methane. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Evaluation and characterization of Mn-Cu mixed oxide catalysts supported on TiO2 and ZrO2 for ethanol total oxidation

MnCu/ZrO₂T and MnCu/TiO₂T (T = calcination temperature) catalysts were prepared by the sol-gel method with a Mn:Cu = 5:1 ratio and calcined at different temperatures, T = 673, 873 and 1073 K. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, measurement of specific surface area, temperature programmed reduction, XPS and FT-IR spectroscopy. For both groups of catalysts, the increase of calcination temperature produced three effects: the segregation of phases, an increase of the crystallinity, and a phase transformation of the support. The catalytic activity was evaluated in total oxidation of ethanol, considered as model molecule of VOC. The MnCu/TiO₂ 673 and MnCu/ZrO₂ 873 catalysts showed the best catalytic performance, which was associated with the high dispersion of the MnO_x and CuO_x active phases. The catalytic activity of MnCu/TiO₂ 673 catalyst was also favored by its high surface area.     

Low-Temperature Combustion of CH4 over CeO2–MO x Solid Solution (M = Zr4+, La3+, Ca2+, or Mg2+) Promoted Pd/γ–Al2O3 Catalysts

The catalytic behavior of Pd (2 wt%) catalysts supported on γ-Al₂O₃ and promoted with CeO₂ ? MO _x (M = Zr⁴⁺, La³⁺, Ca²⁺, or Mg²⁺) solid solution was investigated for methane combustion. The results demonstrated that Pd/γ-Al₂O₃CeO₂ MO _x catalysts can be effective for the low-temperature catalytic combustion of methane and are comparable in activity to other conventional catalysts for this reaction. The XPS and XRD results indicated that an enhanced mobility of lattice oxygen induced by the perturbation of Ce–O lattice was responsible for an increased catalytic performance during oxidation reaction. The most active sites in the catalyst system involve contacts between Pd and the CeO₂–MO _x mixed oxide component. Meanwhile, pre-treatment conditions have significant effect on the catalytic activity in methane combustion.     

Water-gas shift reaction over supported Pt and Pt-CeOx catalysts

A comparison study was performed of the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction over Pt and ceria-promoted Pt catalysts supported on CeO₂, ZrO₂, and TiO₂ under rather severe reaction conditions: 6.7 mol% CO, 6.7 mol% CO₂, and 33.2 mol% H₂O in H₂. Several techniques—CO chemisorption, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES)—were employed to characterize the catalysts. The WGS reaction rate increased with increasing amount of chemisorbed CO over Pt/ZrO₂, Pt/TiO₂, and Pt-CeO _x /ZrO₂, whereas no such correlation was found over Pt/CeO₂, Pt-CeO _x /CeO₂, and Pt-CeO _x /TiO₂. For these catalysts in the absence of any impurities such as Na⁺, the WGS activity increased with increasing surface area of the support, showed a maximum value, and then decreased as the surface area of the support was further increased. An adverse effect of Na⁺ on the amount of chemisorbed CO and the WGS activity was observed over Pt/CeO₂. Pt-CeO _x /TiO₂ (51) showed the highest WGS activity among the tested supported Pt and Pt-CeO_x catalysts. The close contact between Pt and the support or between Pt and CeO _x , as monitored by H₂-TPR, is closely related to the WGS activity. The catalytic stability at 583K improved with increasing surface area of the support over the CeO₂- and ZrO₂-supported Pt and Pt-CeO _x catalysts.     

Post‐Plasma Catalysis for Methane Partial Oxidation to Methanol: Role of the Copper‐Promoted Iron Oxide Catalyst

Methane‐air partial oxidation to methanol over a ceramic‐supported Fe₂O₃‐CuO catalyst was investigated in a post‐plasma catalytic reactor at ambient conditions. The multicomponent catalyst exerted a better catalytic performance than the monocomponent Fe₂O₃ catalyst. Characterization of the catalysts by XPS showed that incorporation of the CuO additive to a Fe₂O₃‐based catalyst resulted in an increase of lattice oxygen in the surface of the catalyst which facilitated selective methane oxidation. Hydrogen temperature‐programmed reduction revealed that addition of the CuO promoter could improve the reduction performance of the catalyst. Moreover, this catalyst showed excellent stability and resistance against carbon deposition in the extended reactions while maintaining catalytic activity. A post‐plasma catalytic mechanism is proposed with three main pathways to methanol synthesis.     

Total oxidation of toluene and oxygen storage capacity of zirconia-sol modified ceria zirconia

This paper provides novel knowledge about the positive effect of ZrO₂ sol addition on CeO₂–ZrO₂ mixed oxides (CZ) catalyst for the total oxidation activity of toluene. The composite catalysts of CZ powders with 6–23 wt.% ZrO₂ prefer to make better microstructure for catalytic oxidation activity than CZ itself. Possible mechanism on improvement of conversion of toluene to CO₂ was proposed due to the modification of surface basicity by ZrO₂ addition. It was discussed that the stronger adsorption site of CO₂ on dispersed ZrO₂ would accelerate to remove reactant CO₂ from active CZ surface onto dispersed ZrO₂ in the oxidation reaction of toluene.     

Methane Combustion and CO Oxidation on Zirconia-Supported La,Mn Oxides and LaMnO3 Perovskite

ZrO₂-supported La, Mn oxide catalysts with different La, Mn loading (0.7, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 16 wt% as LaMnO₃) were prepared by impregnation of tetragonal ZrO₂ with equimolar amounts of La and Mn citrate precursors and calcination at 1073 K. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and BET specific surface area determination. The redox properties were tested by temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and the catalytic tests were carried out for methane combustion at 650–1050 K and for CO oxidation at 350–800 K. XRD revealed the presence of tetragonal zirconia with traces of the monoclinic phase. LaMnO₃ perovskite was also detected for loading higher than 6%. XAS and TPR experiments suggested that at high loading small crystallites of LaMnO₃, not uniformly spread on the zirconia surface, were formed; while at low loading, La, Mn oxide species interacting with the support, and hard to be structurally defined, prevailed. The catalysis study indicated that the presence of a perovskite-like structure is necessary for the development of highly active sites. Dilute catalysts were in fact poorly active even when considering the activity per gram of La, Mn perovskite-like composition. For methane combustion and CO oxidation, similar trends of the activity as a function of the loading point to a similarity of the active sites for the two reactions on the examined catalytic system.     

Synergistic effect of Pd in methane combustion PdMnOx/Al2O3 catalysts

The catalytic methane combustion was investigated over alumina-supported monometallic and bimetallic palladium and manganese oxide catalysts. The catalytic activity of these systems showed that palladium incorporation on MnO_x/Al₂O₃ catalyst leads to an enhancement in methane combustion. The higher catalytic activity of the PdMn/Al₂O₃ catalysts is related to a greater mobility of lattice oxygen in manganese oxide in the presence of palladium. These bimetallic catalysts also showed a significant improvement in catalysts stability with respect the monometallic ones. Surface analysis of the used catalysts revealed less amount of coke and Mn/Al and Pd/Al atomic ratios almost unchanged, which is indication of absence of active phase sintering.     

Au/Ce1−xZrxO2 as effective catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation

The physico-chemical properties and activity of Ce-Zr mixed oxides, CeO₂ and ZrO₂ in CO oxidation have been studied considering both their usefulness as supports for Au nanoparticles and their contribution to the reaction. A series of Ce_1−xZr_xO₂ (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) oxides has been prepared by sol–gel like method and tested in CO oxidation. Highly uniform, nanosized, Ce-Zr solid solutions were obtained. The activity of mixed oxides in CO oxidation was found to be dependent on Ce/Zr molar ratio and related to their reducibility and/or oxygen mobility. CeO₂ and Ce_0.75Zr_0.25O₂, characterized by the cubic crystalline phase show the highest activity in CO oxidation. It suggests that the presence of a cubic crystalline phase in Ce-Zr solid solution improves its catalytic activity in CO oxidation. The relation between the physico-chemical properties of the supports and the catalytic performance of Au/Ce_1−xZr_xO₂ catalysts in CO oxidation reaction has been investigated. Gold was deposited by the direct anionic exchange (DAE) method. The role of the support in the creation of catalytic performance of supported Au nanoparticles in CO oxidation was significant. A direct correlation between activity and catalysts reducibility was observed. Ceria, which is susceptible to the reduction at the lowest temperature, in the presence of highly dispersed Au nanoparticles, appears to be responsible for the activity of the studied catalysts. CeO₂-ZrO₂ mixed oxides are promising supports for Au nanoparticles in CO oxidation whose activity is found to be dependent on Ce/Zr molar ratio.     

LaMnO3 Perovskite Supported Noble Metal Catalysts for the Total Oxidation of Methane

Two series of LaMnO₃ supported noble metal (Pt, Pd, Rh) catalysts prepared by the citrate method and calcined in air at 600 and 800 °C, respectively, were investigated. The catalysts resulting from method A were prepared by simultaneous incorporation of the noble metals during perovskite preparation and those following method B were generated by impregnation of the calcined perovskites with the noble metal compounds. The noble metals form solid solutions with the perovskite lattice. Reduction of the catalysts with hydrogen prior to the catalytic reaction led to a significant enhancement of the catalytic activity. During the catalytic reaction, the noble metal clusters are partially transformed to highly dispersed noble metal oxides or nonstoichiometric noble metal oxide phases, which are the catalytically active phases for the total oxidation of methane. The best results were obtained with the Pd containing catalysts prepared by method B.     

Effect of support on the apparent activity of palladium oxide in catalytic methane combustion

The support effect on the low temperature catalytic oxidation of methane over palladium catalysts was studied by comparing a series of metal oxides as the support. Samples of 0.010 g/g Pd catalysts supported on different grades and/or phases of TiO₂, Al₂O₃, and ZrO₂ were prepared via incipient impregnation and their catalytic activity was evaluated using a laboratory plug-flow reactor. The specific surface area of the supports determined by nitrogen adsorption varied from about 13-220 m²/g. Initial experiments conducted with titania (anatase) as a support showed a low apparent activity and a poor thermal stability. Focusing on anatase, we have successfully improved its thermal stability by additions of Al₂O₃ or by doping with CeO₂, or La₂O₃. However, contrary to expectations based on some information in the literature, we have found that the activity decreased in the sequence of Al₂O₃ > ZrO₂ > TiO₂, and was not a direct function of specific surface area. This was especially evident in the case of titania. The surface structure of the support and the nature of its interaction with the active component PdO seem to play a far more important role in activity than the apparent specific surface area. Moreover, anatase-supported catalysts present a very rapid deactivation, whereas rutile-supported catalysts are relatively stable. The observed phenomena could potentially be related to the interaction between support and the active phase of palladium. Several models have been proposed to describe the strong metal-support interaction, but either charge transfer or encapsulation seems to be the most probable.     

Investigation of Ni/Ce-ZrO2 catalysts in the autothermal reforming of methane

Nickel catalysts supported on α-Al₂O₃, CeO₂, ZrO₂ and Ce-ZrO₂ were investigated in the autothermal reforming of methane. Ce-ZrO₂ supports formed a solid solution and presented better oxygen storage capacity per unit of mass of Ce when compared to CeO₂. Diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy spectra and temperature-programmed reduction profiles, showed the presence of Ni²⁺ in tetrahedral and octahedral geometries for catalysts supported on mixed oxides. Temperature-programmed surface reaction experiments showed that the catalytic activity for autothermal reforming is proportional to the amount of metallic sites on the surface. However, when operating under severe coking conditions, catalysts with a higher oxygen storage capacity were more stable in the autothermal reforming of methane. Time-differential angular correlation experiments provided an atomic view on how the mobility of oxygen on CeZrO₂ is enhanced by the presence of Ni, which increases the stability of the catalyst.     

Methane oxidative coupling over SrCoO3-based perovskites in periodic regime

The SrCoO₃ and A_xSr_1−xCoO₃ (A = Li, Na, K) perovskites are active and stable catalysts for methane coupling reaction performed in a periodic regime where methane and oxygen alternatively react with a catalyst. The temperature-programmed reduction of the catalysts has been made, and a correlation found between catalytic activity and catalyst oxygen reactivity. Experimental and simulation study of reaction kinetics has been performed, and the probable heterogeneous–homogeneous reaction mechanism has been discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.