Characteristics of Al-MCM-41 supported Pt catalysts: effect of Al distribution in Al-MCM-41 on its catalytic activity in naphthalene hydrogenation

Naphthalene hydrogenation was carried out in a high-pressure batch reactor over platinum catalysts supported on Al-MCM-41 where aluminum was incorporated through two different methods: a direct sol–gel method (Pre) and post-synthetic grafting method (Post). The catalytic reaction was also performed in the presence of dibenzothiophene to investigate the sulfur tolerance. The hydrogenation activity, selectivity and the sulfur tolerance strongly depended on the acidic nature of Al-MCM-41 support. It was suggested that the acid sites of Al-MCM-41-Post be more accessible than those of Al-MCM-Pre due to different aluminum distribution within the pore wall. The naphthalene and tetralin conversion increased with the acid amount of the supports in Pt/Al-MCM-41 catalysts. The acid sites in bifunctional catalysts seemed to contribute to alternative pathway by the spillover hydrogen in the acid–metal interfacial region for naphthalene hydrogenation, since the metal dispersions were kept constant for Pt/Al-MCM-41 catalysts. The trans-decalin selectivity generally increased with temperature or acid amount. The acid sites seemed to enhance the sulfur tolerance of supported platinum catalysts due to the electron-deficient state of metal.     

Ni2P/Al-MCM-41催化剂的制备及其加氢脱硫性能

以硅酸钠为硅源、硫酸铝为铝源、十六烷基三甲基溴化铵（CTAB）作模板剂,采用共沸蒸馏与超声波分散技术相结合的方法制备了介孔分子筛Al-MCM-41。以Al-MCM-41为载体、硝酸镍和磷酸氢二氨为原料,采用超声波振荡、程序升温还原法制备了Ni₂P/Al-MCM-41催化剂,并对Al-MCM-41和Ni₂P/Al-MCM-41进行了傅里叶变换红外光谱、比表面积测定、X射线衍射、扫描电镜表征。考察了Ni₂P/Al-MCM-41催化剂对噻吩加氢脱硫的催化性能。结果表明：采用超声波制得的Al-MCM-41其比表面积、孔容和孔径明显高于常规搅拌制得的Al-MCM-41,共沸蒸馏制得的Al-MCM-41其比表面积、孔容和孔径高于未共沸蒸馏的Al-MCM-41;在反应时间为5 h、548 K、3.5 MPa条件下,Ni₂P/Al-MCM-41催化剂对噻吩加氢脱硫的转化率接近100%。     

Hydroisomerization of model FCC naphtha over sulfided Co(Ni)–Mo(W)/MCM-41 catalysts

Deep hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of gasoline generally brings about the saturation of olefins and leads to the serious octane number losses. Conversion of linear olefins to branched ones followed by hydrogenation to isoalkanes would minimize such octane number losses. In this work, MCM-41-supported Co–Mo, Ni–Mo and Ni–W catalysts were prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation method, and compared with an industrial Co–Mo/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst. The surface acidities were measured by the techniques of microcalorimetry and infrared spectroscopy for the adsorption of ammonia, and probed by the reaction of conversion of isopropanol. The isomerization and hydrogenation of 1-hexene as well as the HDS of thiophene were studied by using model FCC naphtha. It was found that the sulfidation enhanced significantly the surface Brønsted acidity that favored the skeletal isomerization of 1-hexene under the HDS conditions. Since the isomerization and hydrogenation of 1-hexene are the two competition reactions, the catalysts with relatively lower hydrogenation activity may have higher selectivity to the isomerization reactions. The Co–Mo/MCM-41 showed the high selectivity to the skeletal isomerization reactions due to its strong surface Brønsted acidity and the relatively low hydrogenation activity. On the other hand, the Ni–Mo/MCM-41 exhibited high hydrogenation activity and therefore low selectivity to the isomerization reactions although it possessed quite strong surface Brønsted acidity. The Ni–W/MCM-41 exhibited the low activity for the HDS of thiophene and isomerization of 1-hexene due to the poor dispersion of active metals.     

TiO2-Supported Mo Model Catalysts: Ti as Promoter for Thiophene HDS?

The combination of thiophene hydrodesulfurization (HDS) activity measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on flat model systems of sulfided HDS Mo catalysts showed that sulfided Ti-species can act as a promoter in the same way as Co and Ni, although less effectively. This explains the higher thiophene HDS activity and hydrogenation selectivity of Mo/TiO₂ compared with Mo/Al₂O₃, while for Ni-promoted Mo catalysts the difference between the two supports is negligible.     

载体对Pd和Pt催化剂加氢脱硫反应性能的影响

以质量分数为0.8%的二苯并噻吩(DBT)的十氢萘溶液为模型化合物,考察了SiO_2,Si-MCM-41和Al-MCM-41负载的Pd和Pt催化剂加氢脱硫(HDs)反应性能,并与传统的γ-Al_2O_3负载的催化剂进行了对比.反应结果表明,负载型Pd和Pt催化剂在DBT的HDS反应中表现出不同的反应特点.Pd催化剂具有较高的加氢反应路径(HYD)选择性,而Pt催化剂则表现出较高的直接脱硫路径(DDS)选择性.载体结构和表面酸性显著影响其负载的Pd和Pt贵金属催化剂的HDS活性以及HYD选择性和稳定性.提高载体比表面积和酸性有利于提高负载型贵金属催化剂HYD选择性.Al-MCM-41具有规整的介孔结构、较高比表面积和较强酸性,其负载的Pd和Pt催化剂表现出较高的HYD选择性和稳定性.研究还发现,催化剂加氢裂化反应活性随载体酸性的提高而增加.     

Room temperature efficacious synthesis of diphenylmethane over Fe/Al-MCM-41 catalysts

Fe/Al-MCM-41 (Si/Al = 25, 50, 75 and 100) were synthesized. Their catalytic activity was evaluated towards benzylation of benzene with benzyl chloride in liquid phase. The catalytic activity of Fe/Al-MCM-41(25) was higher than the other catalysts. Diphenylmethane(DPM) was obtained as the major product with 100% selectivity and with 100% conversion of benzyl chloride under optimum condition. The effect of temperature and the feed ratio, on the activity of Fe/Al-MCM-41(25) and selectivity towards DPM was studied and a possible reaction mechanism was proposed.     

Mn(Salen)/Al-MCM-41的微波固相法制备及其表征

报道了一种新的微波固相法制备Mn(Salen)/Al-MCM-41催化剂的方法,并与常规制备方法进行了比较。对微波固相法制备的催化剂进行了一系列的表征,表征结果表明,微波固相方法和常规方法均能成功地将Mn(Salen)络合物固载于介孔Al-MCM-41分子筛中,且在原料的量相同的情况下,红外光谱显示微波固相法具有更强的吸收峰。比较了不同方法制备的催化剂在苯乙烯环氧化反应中的催化性能,发现微波固相法制备的Mn(salen)/Al-MCM-41-IP催化剂具有较高的催化活性和最好的环氧化物选择性。还考察了催化剂性能与制备过程中的微波辐射时间的关系。进行了催化剂的重复使用的实验,使用三次后,转化率达到59.4%,选择性可达78.3%。     

Synthesis, characterization and catalytic properties of NiMo/Al2O3–MCM-41 catalyst for dibenzothiophene hydrodesulfurization

Ni–Mo/Al₂O₃–MCM-41 supported catalysts have been investigated for modification of MCM-41 by using sol–gel alumina incorporation method. Different catalysts were synthesized with variation of Si/Al molar ratios of 10, 50, 100 and 200. High specific surface area ordered meso-porous solid (MCM-41) was synthesized by using organic template method. In order to modify the low acidity of silica solid, the surface of MCM-41 was modified by incorporation of alumina. The surface acidity of solids modified significantly with variation of alumina content in the supports. The sol–gel method of alumina incorporation was used, which does not modify extensively the pore characteristics of MCM-41 material during the preparation of Al₂O₃–MCM-41. The X-ray diffraction intensities indicated that alumina as well as MCM-41 were present in the synthesized supports. Additionally, the hydrothermal stability of the Al₂O₃–MCM-41 materials was maintained up to 873 K using sever conditions like 100% water vapor stream. The catalytic activity of the catalysts was tested in the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT). Selectivity was oriented mainly to the production of biphenyl (BP) and for high Si/Al ratios toward cyclohexylbenzene (CHB) and showed a higher conversion and better selectivity to hydrogenation (cyclohexylbenzene).     

Evaluation of various types of Al-MCM-41 materials as catalysts in biomass pyrolysis for the production of bio-fuels and chemicals

MCM-41, is one of the latest members of the mesoporous family of materials. They possess a hexagonal array of uniform mesopores (1.4–10 nm), high surface areas (>1000 m²/g) and moderate acidity. Due to these properties the MCM-41 materials are currently under study in a variety of processes as catalysts or catalyst supports. The objective of this study was to evaluate different types of MCM-41 materials as potential catalysts in the catalytic biomass pyrolysis process. We expected that the very high pore size and the mild acidity of these materials could be beneficial to reformulate the high molecular weight primary molecules from biomass pyrolysis producing useful chemical (and especially phenolic compounds) and lighter bio-oil with less heavy molecules. Three different samples of Al-MCM-41 materials (with different Si/Al ratio) and three metal containing mesoporous samples (Cu–Al-MCM-41, Fe–Al-MCM-41 and Zn–Al-MCM-41) have been synthesised, characterized and tested as catalysts in the biomass catalytic pyrolysis process using a fixed bed pyrolysis combined with a fixed catalytic reactor and two different types of biomass feeds. Compared to conventional (non-catalytic) pyrolysis, it was found that the presence of the MCM-41 material alters significantly the quality of the pyrolysis products. All catalysts were found to increase the amount of phenolic compounds, which are very important in the chemical (adhesives) industry. A low Si/Al ratio was found to have a positive effect on product yields and composition. Fe–Al-MCM-41 and Cu–Al-MCM-41 are the best metal-containing catalysts in terms of phenols production. The presence of the Al-MCM-41 material was also found to decrease the fraction of undesirable oxygenated compounds in the bio-oil produced, which is an indication that the bio-oil produced is more stable.     

Vapor-Phase Isopropylation of Phenol over Fe-Containing Al-MCM-41 Molecular Sieves

Al-MCM-41 and Fe-containing MCM-41 molecular sieves are hydrothermally synthesized. The low-angle XRD analysis shows that iron incorporation in Al-MCM-41 retains the hexagonal structure of MCM-41. The higher d-spacing values of Fe-Al-MCM-41 catalysts than those of Al-MCM-41 indicate the incorporation of iron into the framework. The mesoporous nature of the materials was confirmed by nitrogen adsorption isotherms. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) techniques confirm the tetrahedral coordination of iron into the Al-MCM-41 framework. Acidity of the synthesized catalysts was analyzed by both TPD of ammonia and pyridine-adsorbed FT-IR spectroscopy. The acidity measurements indicate that iron incorporation increases both Lewis and Brønsted acidity of the catalysts. Vapor-phase isopropylation of phenol with the new'alkylating agent isopropyl acetate was carried over the H-forms of the above catalysts. The phenol to isopropyl acetate ratio of 1?:?2 and the phenol space velocity of 1.1 h^-1 were found to be the optimum conditions for better phenol conversion and para isomer (4-isopropyl phenol) selectivity. On comparison, the Fe-incorporated Al-MCM-41 catalysts show significantly higher phenol conversion and selectivity toward the important product 4-isopropyl phenol (4-IPP) may be due to stronger Brønsted acid sites generated by the strengthening effect of nearby Lewis acid sites. Further, the undesired and dialkylated products selectivity are found to be lower over Fe-incorporated Al-MCM-41 than pure Al-MCM-41 catalysts.     

t-Butylation of p-cresol with t-butyl alcohol over mesoporous Al-MCM-41 molecular sieves

Selective liquid-phase t-butylation of p-cresol with t-butyl alcohol (t-BuOH) to produce 2-t-butyl-p-cresol (TBC) has been conducted over Al-MCM-41 catalysts with different Si/Al ratios. The effects of various reaction parameters such as temperature, reaction time and n_t-BuOH:n_p-cresol ratio on the conversion of p-cresol and the selectivity of TBC have been systematically investigated as well. When the Si/Al ratio of Al-MCM-41 catalysts is increased from 21 to 104 (respectively yielding Al-MCM-41(21), Al-MCM-41(42), Al-MCM-41(62), Al-MCM-41(83) and Al-MCM-41(104)), both the conversion of p-cresol and the yield and selectivity of TBC decrease due to the decrease of the number of Brønsted acid sites of the Al-MCM-41 catalysts. Al-MCM-41(21) catalyst is found to give the highest conversion of p-cresol (88.2%) and the highest selectivity of TBC (90.40%) under the optimal n_t-BuOH:n_p-cresol mole ratio of 2:1, the optimal reaction temperature of 90 °C and the optimal reaction time of 2 h. Furthermore, Al-MCM-41(21) can be recycled up to at least four times without losing its catalytic performance for butylation reaction.     

Use of Ni/Al-MCM-41 Catalysts for the Exhaustive Hydrodechlorination of 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene

Several Ni/Al-MCM-41 catalysts were tested in the gas phase hydrodechlorination of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene at atmospheric pressure. They showed high activity and selectivity towards benzene at reaction temperatures between 473 and 523 K with values of 100% conversion and 100% benzene selectivity at 523 K for all of them.     

Ethanol steam reforming over Ni/La–Al2O3 catalysts: Influence of lanthanum loading

Hydrogen production from ethanol reforming over nickel catalysts supported on lanthanum loaded Al₂O₃ substrates was studied. Activity results revealed the enhancement in the reforming stability of the Ni catalysts with the increase in the lanthanum loading on Al₂O₃ substrates. Catalytic behavior of Ni/La–Al₂O₃ catalysts in the ethanol steam reforming was found to be the contribution of the activity of the La–Al₂O₃ supports for the ethanol dehydration reaction and the activity of the nickel metallic phase that catalyzes both dehydrogenation and CC bond rupture. Physicochemical characterization of catalysts revealed that acidity, nickel dispersion and nickel-support interaction depend on the La-loading on Al₂O₃. The better reforming stability of catalysts with the increase in La content was explained in terms of the ability of nickel surface and/or La–Ni interactions to prevent the formation of carbon filaments.     

HDS of thiophene over CoMo/AlMCM-41 with different Si/Al ratios

A series of AlMCM-41 molecular sieves with different Si/Al ratios were synthesized followed by the deposition of cobalt and molybdenum oxides on these mesoporous supports by co-impregnation. Such materials were further calcined and catalysts with 15 wt.% of cobalt and molybdenum and a Co/(Co + Mo) atomic ratio of 0.30 were obtained. These materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction (TEM/SAED), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and nitrogen adsorption. Hydrodesulphurisation (HDS) of thiophene was carried out at 350 °C in a fixed bed continuous flow micro reactor coupled on line to a gas chromatograph. The main XRD peaks of MCM-41 phase were observed in all samples and peaks due to MoO₃ and CoMoO₄ phases were also identified from XRD results. It was found that the as-synthesized catalysts presented reasonable conversion results for HDS of thiophene, when compared to other supported catalysts. The main products of HDS of thiophene were H₂S, isobutene, 1-butene, n-butane, 2-butene-trans, and 2-butene-cis. It was observed that the reactivity of the as-synthesized catalysts is a direct function of the Si/Al ratio, nature and concentration of the active species on the mesoporous supports.     

Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane over Co, Ni and Mo mixed oxides/MCM-41 catalysts: Effects of intra- and extra-framework locations of metals on product distributions

A series of mesoporous MCM-41-based catalysts containing single and binary metal oxides (Mo, Co, Ni, NiMo and CoMo) has been prepared with binaries having one metal incorporated into MCM-41 structure while the other impregnated on the walls. A sample of the catalysts was characterized by temperature programmed reduction (TPR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET surface area. The catalysts performances depended on the location of the active component – intra or extra – in MCM-41 framework. At similar level of propane conversions (14%), Mo- and Ni-incorporated MCM-41 exhibited selectivities to olefins (ethylene, propylene, 1-butylene, i-butylene and 1,3-butadiene) of 47.7% and 28.6% respectively. NiMCM-41, in addition exhibited selectivity to 1-pentylene of 12.2%. A catalyst produced by Mo incorporation followed by Ni impregnation (Ni-MoMCM-1) showed selectivity to propylene of 41.7% with no other olefins. When the sequence was reversed (Mo-NiMCM-41), the propylene selectivity was maintained and 10% ethylene and 14% C4-olefins were additionally produced, at similar propane of conversions. The highest olefins yield of 13.4% was obtained on Mo-NiMCM-41. The sequence of incorporation and impregnation of Mo- and Co- showed similar but less significant effects on the catalysts performance than in the case of Mo- and Ni-MCM-41. Thus, the location of the metals in the catalyst framework is a key parameter in determining the products distributions.     

Mesoporous silica–alumina as support for Pt and Pt–Mo sulfide catalysts: Effect of Pt loading on activity and selectivity in HDS and HDN of model compounds

The potential of mesoporous silica–alumina (MSA) material as support for the preparation of sulfided Pt and Pt–Mo catalysts of varying Pt loadings was studied. The catalysts were characterized by their texture, hydrogen adsorption, transmission electron microscopy, temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and by activity in simultaneous hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of thiophene and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) of pyridine. Sulfided Pt/MSA catalysts with 1.3 and 2 wt.% Pt showed almost the same HDS and higher HDN activities per weight amounts as conventional CoMo and NiMo/Al₂O₃, respectively. The addition of Pt to sulfided Mo/MSA led to promotion in HDS and HDN with an optimal promoter content close to 0.5 wt.%. The results of TPR showed strong positive effect of Pt on reducibility of the MoS₂ phase which obviously reflects in higher activity of the promoted catalysts. The activity of the MSA-supported Pt–Mo catalyst containing 0.5 wt.% Pt was significantly higher than the activity of alumina-supported Pt–Mo catalyst. Generally, Pt–Mo/MSA catalysts promoted by 0.3–2.3 wt.% Pt showed lower HDS and much higher HDN activities as compared to weight amounts of CoMo and NiMo/Al₂O₃. It is proposed that thiophene HDS and pyridine hydrogenation proceed over Pt/MSA and the majority of Pt–Mo/MSA catalysts on the same type of catalytic sites, which are associated with sulfided Pt and MoS₂ phases. On the contrary, piperidine hydrogenolysis takes place on different sites, most likely on metallic Pt fraction or sites created by abstraction of sulfur from MoS₂ in the presence of Pt.     

Hybrid zeolitic-mesostructured materials as supports of metallocene polymerization catalysts

The potential application of hybrid ZSM-5/Al-MCM-41 zeolitic-mesostructured materials as supports of metallocene polymerization catalysts has been investigated and compared with the behaviour of standard mesoporous Al-MCM-41 and microporous ZSM-5 samples. Hybrid zeolitic-mesostructured solids were prepared from zeolite seeds obtained with different Si/Al molar ratios (15, 30 and 60), which were assembled around cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles to obtain hybrid materials having a combination of both zeolitic and mesostructured features. (nBuCp)₂ZrCl₂/MAO catalytic system was impregnated onto the above mentioned solid supports and tested in ethylene polymerization at 70 °C and 5 bar of ethylene pressure. Supports and heterogeneous catalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms at 77 K, transmission electron microscopy, ²⁷Al-MAS-NMR, ICP-atomic emission spectroscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy.Catalysts supported over hybrid ZSM-5/Al-MCM-41 (Si/Al = 30-60) exhibited the best catalytic activity followed by those supported on Al-MCM-41 (Si/Al = 30-60). However, catalyst supported on ZSM-5 gave lower polymerization activity because of its microporous structure with narrower pores and lower textural properties than hybrid and mesoporous materials.Although higher acid site population shown by hybrid materials could contribute to the stabilization of the metallocene system on the support, in this case their better catalytic performance is mainly ascribed to the larger textural properties.     

Ni and Mo interaction with Al-containing MCM-41 support and its effect on the catalytic behavior in DBT hydrodesulfurization

A series of Mo and NiMo catalysts supported on Al-containing MCM-41 was prepared and characterized by N₂ physisorption, XRD, ammonia TPD, temperature programmed reduction (TPR), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and ²⁷Al MAS-NMR. It was shown that the incorporation of Al atoms into the siliceous MCM-41 framework causes a deterioration of the textural characteristics and some loss in the periodicity of the MCM-41 pore structure. However, the acidity of the Al-containing MCM-41 is substantially higher. The dispersion of Mo and Ni oxidic species increases with the incorporation of aluminum in the MCM-41 support due to the strong interaction of Mo and Ni oxidic species with aluminum atoms of the support. However, the strong interaction of metal species with the Al-containing MCM-41 supports, up to the formation of Al₂(MoO₄)₃ in the case of unpromoted Mo catalysts, produces an increase in the proportion of Ni and Mo species difficult to reduce. When Ni and Mo are impregnated simultaneously the formation of Al₂(MoO₄)₃ is prevented because of the competitive interaction of both, Ni and Mo species, with Al atoms of the support. For both, Mo and NiMo catalysts, maximum catalytic activity in dibenzothiophene (DBT) hydrodesulfurization is observed for the catalysts supported on Al-MCM-41 with SiO₂/Al₂O₃ molar ratio of 30. When Al-containing MCM-41 is used as a support for NiMo catalyst, some cracking of the main reaction products (biphenyl (BiP), cyclohexylbenzene (CHB) and dicyclohexyl (DCH)) is observed.     

Ce Dispersed Al-MCM-41: A Photocombinate for Phenol Degradation Activity

Al-MCM-41 supported ceria samples of various cerium content (0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8 and 3.0 wt.%) were prepared by impregnation and are characterized by BET, XRD, UV–VIS DRS, XPS and ESR techniques. At lower cerium contents the DRS clearly shows a blue shift of 50 nm in the absorbtion edge of CeO₂ indicating the size quantization and high dispersion of cerium particles. The XPS analyses of Ce–Al-MCM-41 samples revealed the interaction of cerium with Al-MCM-41 in Ce³⁺ state and at higher loadings in Ce^3+/4+ states. ESR studies also further substantiated this observation. These catalysts when subjected to photo degradation activity of phenol, 0.3 wt.% Ce–Al-MCM-41 is showing maximum degradation among all the catalysts tested. The present study highlights that cerium at lower loadings is in +3 oxidation state and is dispersed highly showing good photocatalytic activity in comparison with pure ceria.     

Cumene hydrocracking and thiophene HDS on niobia-supported Ni, Mo and Ni–Mo catalysts

Results are reported on the XPS characterization and catalytic activity in cumene hydrocracking (2.8 MPa, 623 K) and thiophene HDS (2.8 MPa, 523–573 K) of sulfided Ni, Mo and Ni–Mo catalysts supported on alumina and on pure and phosphated niobia. From the XPS results, evidence was obtained for the formation of a surface niobium sulfide with stoichiometry close to NbS₂ during catalyst sulfidation. Sintering of supported nickel during sulfidation occurred to a much smaller extent with the niobia-supported catalysts than with the alumina-supported ones. The dispersion of alumina-supported molybdenum was little influenced by sulfidation, whereas, with the niobia supports, the molybdenum surface concentration increased with sulfidation. With the alumina support, the Ni–Mo combination caused the dispersion of the sulfided nickel to be improved, possibly due to formation of a NiMoS phase. This was not observed with the niobia-supported catalysts.

Reasonable linear correlations were also found between the intrinsic activity for cumene hydrocracking and the amount of sulfided niobium in the catalysts, but the catalysts supported on phosphated niobia had a higher intrinsic activity than the ones supported on pure niobia. In thiophene HDS, the activity of the niobia-supported nickel catalysts was much larger than the activity of the alumina-supported ones. The activity of the niobia-supported molybdenum catalysts was smaller than that of the alumina-supported catalyst. With the bimetallic catalysts, little or no synergy was observed with the niobia-supported catalysts, in sharp contrast with the alumina case.