Direct gas-phase epoxidation of propylene over nanostructured molybdenum oxide film catalysts

Mixed molybdenum oxides are widely used catalysts for propylene oxidation to acrolein or acrylic acid or for methanol oxidation in the gas phase. In the present study, however molybdenum oxides exhibited an epoxidation activity in the gas phase. To achieve this activity, the oxidation state, particle sizes and accessibility of molybdenum oxides are needed to be controlled. Such active molybdenum species can be prepared by PVD deposition of molybdenum nanorods and their subsequent oxidation in a controlled atmosphere. Accordingly, monoclinic MoO₂ particles with a diameter of < 10 nm can be prepared, which exhibit 42% selectivity to propylene oxide (the byproducts of the oxidation being mainly acrolein and acetone). In comparison, molybdenum-containing catalysts prepared by traditional impregnation methods exhibited practically zero epoxidation activity in gas-phase epoxidation of propylene.     

钼基催化剂在烯烃液相环氧化反应中的应用研究进展

介绍了钼络合物催化剂、固载化的钼络合物催化剂及MoO₃基的固体钼催化剂在烯烃液相环氧化反应中的应用。以有机过氧化物为氧化剂时,不同的钼基催化剂均表现出很好的催化性能,其中络合物中的配体对其催化性能有很大影响,并且可以通过引入手性配体实现对烯烃的不对称环氧化,而固体钼催化剂的性能则与载体上钼物种的种类密切相关。但绝大多数钼催化剂对H₂O₂参与的环氧化反应没有活性,开发对H₂O₂有催化活性的钼基催化剂是一个重要的研究方向。     

Molybdenum-doped epoxy resins as catalysts for the epoxidation of alkenes

Epoxy resins were polymerised using molybdenum ethoxide and 2-ethylhexanoate as polymerisation initiators. The thermosets thus obtained are useful epoxidation catalysts for a variety of alkenes, including propene with tert-butyl hydroperoxide as an oxidant. To investigate the long-term performance of these resins, they were used repeatedly in up to 120 reactions without any reconditioning. Compared with other catalyst systems based on organic polymers, they reveal unprecedented long-term activities over periods of months so that catalyst lifetimes of years can be expected. Di-, tri-, tetra- and oligofunctional epoxy resin monomers were used and compared. The catalytic performance of the thermosets strongly depends on the resin type and the polymerisation initiator. Promising results were obtained with monomers bearing 3 or 4 glycidyl groups in combination with Mo(OEt)₅ as an initiator. Metal leaching, determined by sensitive atomic spectroscopic techniques, is extremely low. Inorganic–organic hybrid catalysts can be easily prepared by adding inorganic components such as silicagel to the liquid resins, followed by polymerisation.     

Preparation of silica-immobilized titanium-containing silsesquioxane catalysts and activity for the epoxidation of alkenes

Silsesquioxanes containing tetrapodal titanium species and alkenylsilyl groups were immobilized onto dimethylsilyl-functionalized silica having mesopores by chemical tethering via hydrosilylative reaction in the presence of a Pt catalyst. The immobilized catalysts showed higher activity than their corresponding homogeneous catalyst towards the epoxidation of cyclooctene by tert-butylhydroperoxide, probably because of the improvement of the micro-environment around the titanium center. The reaction was found to be truly heterogeneous, since no further reaction proceeded after the separation of the catalyst by filtration. These catalysts also showed excellent catalytic activity for the epoxidation using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant, while the parent homogeneous catalysts did not show any activity at all.     

Optimisation of olefin epoxidation catalysts with the application of high-throughput and genetic algorithms assisted by artificial neural networks (softcomputing techniques)

An olefin epoxidation Ti catalyst has been optimised by means of high-throughput experimentation involving materials synthesis, postsynthesis treatments, and catalytic testing. Softcomputing techniques for advanced experimental design have been used. The variables explored in the hydrothermal synthesis of Ti-silicate-based catalysts were: concentration of OH⁻, titanium, and surfactant. The probe reaction employed for the optimisation was the solvent-free epoxidation of cyclohexene, with tert-butylhydroperoxide as oxidant. The different catalyst groups detected by clustering analysis were studied by XRD and UV diffuse reflectance. Ti-mesoporous MCM-41 and MCM-48 molecular sieves were among the most active catalysts. The best performing catalysts were tested for epoxidation of different linear olefins.     

用于丙烯环氧化反应的金催化剂

以氢气和氧气混合气为氧源的丙烯环氧化反应是金催化剂应用研究的主要反应。综述了金催化剂在丙烯环氧化反应中的载体材料影响、金纳米粒子作用以及金纳米粒子与载体之间的协同作用对催化性能的影响,提出气相直接氧化丙烯生产环氧丙烷尚待解决的技术问题和相应的研究新亮点。     

Catalytic epoxidation of cyclooctene using molybdenum(VI) compounds and urea-hydrogen peroxide in the ionic liquid [bmim]PF6

Commercially available molybdenum(VI) compounds are shown to be good catalysts in the epoxidation of cyclooctene with the urea-hydrogen peroxide adduct (UHP) in the ionic liquid 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [bmim]PF₆. The cyclooctene oxide was isolated by simple extraction with organic solvent and the ionic liquid-catalyst mixture recycled and reused.     

Synthesis of layered crystalline AlSPP and its immobilized chiral salen Mn(III) catalysts applicated in the large scale asymmetric epoxidation of olefins

Chiral salen Mn(III) complex was axially immobilized onto phenoxy-modified organic polymer-inorganic hybrid material layered crystalline aluminium oligo-styrenyl phosphonate-hydrogen phosphate. The prepared catalysts exhibited excellent activities and enantioselectivities for asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins with m-chloroperbenzoic acid as oxidant, especially for the epoxidation of α-methylstyrene (conversion: up to 99 %; ee: exceed 99 %). A point worth emphasizing is that the heterogeneous catalysts afforded remarkable increases of conversions and ee values without adding axial base N-methylmorpholine N-oxide for the asymmetric epoxidation of olefins. The catalyst can be easily recovered and reused with slightly decrease of activity and enantioselectivity after seven cycles. Delightedly, this novel heterogeneous catalyst could also be efficiently used in large-scale reactions with the enantioselectivity being maintained at the same level, which provided the potentiality for application in industry.     

环氧丙烷的合成及催化剂研究新进展

综述了近年来环氧丙烷合成工艺及催化剂研究的新进展，内容包括对现有环氧丙烷生产工艺的革新、氧气一步气相氧化法、过氧化氢液相氧化法、原位过氧化氢生产和环氧化、光催化氧化等方法，并对各种方法和催化剂的特点和发展前景进行了讨论。     

Hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene over supported and unsupported molybdenum carbide catalysts

A series of γ-Al₂O₃ supported molybdenum carbides [carbided Mo/γ-Al₂O₃ (MCS), Co-Mo/γ-Al₂O₃ (CMCS), and Ni-Mo/γ-Al₂O₃ (NMCS)] and unsupported molybdenum carbide (MCUS) were prepared by the temperature-programmed carburization of their corresponding molybdenum nitrides with 20 % CH₄/H₂. XRD and SEM studies show that unsupported molybdenum carbide catalyst possesses a typical crystalline Mo₂C (FCC structure), while supported molybdenum carbide catalysts possess highly dispersed surface molybdenum carbide species on an alumina oxide support. The results of dibenzothiophene (DBT) hydrodesulfurization over molybdenum carbide catalysts show that the reactivity is strongly dependent on the type of catalyst. Supported molybdenum carbide catalysts possess a higher reactivity than the unsupported molybdenum carbide catalyst. In addition, Co or Ni promoted, supported molybdenum carbide catalyst possesses a higher reactivity than the unpromoted, supported molybdenum carbide catalyst. The reactivity, which is also dependent on the reaction conditions, increases with increasing reaction temperature and pressure and contact time. The CO uptakes of the molybdenum carbide catalysts correlate well with overall activity (total rate) for DBT hydrodesulfurization. The major reaction product is biphenyl, with cyclohexylbenzene next in abundance regardless of the type of catalysts and reaction conditions. It was also found that the molybdenum carbide catalysts exhibit stable initial reactivity due to the stable and weak acidic characteristics of these catalysts.     

烯烃环氧化钼系催化剂的多相化研究进展

介绍了以有机聚合物和无机硅酸盐为载体，负载钼催化剂及其对烯烃环氧化反应催化性能的研究进展；分析了硼酸树脂、乙烯-丙烯橡胶、螯合树脂、苯并吡咯树脂、聚酰亚胺树脂、聚硅氧烷树脂、阳离子交换树脂和聚苯乙烯等有机聚合物为载体的研究情况；评价了以无机硅酸盐为载体，采用溶胶-凝胶、离子交换、同晶取代等方法负载钼对催化性能的影响；展望了多相化烯烃环氧化钼系催化剂的发展前景。     

Nickel-containing catalysts for hydroprocessing of aromatic oils

A series of nickel-containing catalysts was prepared by a sequence of impregnation and calcining steps using a γ-alumina support. The calcined catalysts were reduced in a flow of hydrogen and mixtures of hydrogen with hydrogen sulfide. Both the calcining temperature and nickel loading strongly influenced the hydrogenation activity. The changes in surface species which resulted from some of the preparation steps were identified by spectroscopy. The catalysts containing nickel without molybdenum were quickly poisoned by sulfur, but a certa in sulfur tolerance was achieved by a two-step impregnation and calcining procedure. Improved hydrogenation activity and high hydrogenation vs. hydrocracking selectivity of nickel—molybdenum catalysts were obtained with relatively low loading of molybdenum and high loading of nickel. A three-step impregnation and calcining procedure appeared to produce the most effective catalysts.     

Epoxidation of Unsaturated Rubbers with Alkyl Hydroperoxide using Molybdenum Compounds as Catalyst in the Reactive Processing Equipment

A novel approach to the epoxidation of unsaturated rubbers in a reactive processing equipment is presented for the first time in this paper. The effects of the structures of unsaturated rubbers and catalysts on the epoxidation reaction were examined. The experimental results show that the reactivity of three typical unsaturated rubbers follows the decreasing order: ethylene‐propylene‐diene rubber (EPDM) > butadiene rubber (BR) > styrene‐butadiene rubber (SBR). No obvious further oxidation side reaction occurs during the epoxidation of EPDM and BR, while SBR has a significant degradation during reaction. Moreover, investigation of the catalytic system composed of tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) and three different molybdenum compounds reveals that a blue molybdenum compound (Mo‐b), which is the product of the reaction of hydrogen peroxide (30% aqueous solution) with an excess of molybdenum powder, gives the highest catalytic activity and the highest efficiency of TBHP.     

A high-throughput experimentation study of the epoxidation of alkenes with transition-metal-free heterogeneous catalysts

A set of transition-metal-free heterogeneous catalysts for the epoxidation of alkenes with hydrogen peroxide was studied by means of high-throughput experimentation. The catalysts were tested with a range of substrates. Gallium oxide displayed the highest epoxidation activity with all tested alkenes, followed by Ga-MCM-41. The reaction conditions were optimised by investigating the effect of the solvent in which the epoxidation takes place. Considerable improvements in the epoxide yields were obtained in the processes catalysed by Al-MCM-41, Ga-MCM-41 and zeolite USY_(2.6). This work confirms the versatility of HTE for studying catalytic systems.     

Catalytic activity of ethylene oxidation over Au,Ag and Au–Ag catalysts: Support effect

Au, Ag and Au–Ag catalysts on different supports of alumina, titania and ceria were studied for their catalytic activity of ethylene oxidation reactions. An addition of an appropriate amount of Au on Ag/Al₂O₃ catalyst was found to enhance the catalytic activity of the ethylene epoxidation reaction because Au acts as a diluting agent on the Ag surface creating new single silver sites which favor molecular oxygen adsorption. The Ag catalysts on both titania and ceria supports exhibited very poor catalytic activity toward the epoxidation reaction of ethylene, so pure Au catalysts on these two supports were investigated. The Au/TiO₂ catalysts provided the highest selectivity of ethylene oxide with relatively low ethylene conversion whereas, the Au/CeO₂ catalysts was shown to favor the total oxidation reaction over the epoxidation reaction at very low temperatures. In comparisons among the studied catalysts, the bimetallic Au–Ag/Al₂O₃ catalyst is the best candidate for the ethylene epoxidation. The catalytic activity of the gold catalysts was found to depend on the support material and catalyst preparation method which govern the Au particle size and the interaction between the Au particles and the support.     

Shape selectivity as a function of pore size in epoxidation of alkenes with supported titanium catalysts

Reactant shape selectivity of supported titanium catalysts for epoxidation of cyclohexene and 2-hexene has an excellent correlation with the pore diameter of the catalysts. With titanosilicate the preference to cis isomer epoxidation is small compared to TiO₂-SiO₂ probably because of the restriction of its diffusion imposed by the zeolite micropore structure.     

Effect of sulphur on coal liquefaction in the presence of dispersed iron or molybdenum catalysts

The effects of dispersed catalysts on coal liquefaction under hydrogen pressure were studied using small autoclaves. The catalysts were generated in situ by addition of elemental sulphur plus an oil-soluble carboxylic salt of either iron or molybdenum. Finely divided catalysts of relatively high activity were generated by this method. Residues isolated after liquefaction with added iron carboxylate and sulphur contained pyrrhotite, which is proposed to be the catalytically active species. The prime role of sulphur is to form pyrrhotite in combination with the iron. Addition of sulphur alone did not increase conversion. This method of catalyst preparation seems useful for further scientific study of the relationship between sulphur, metal sulphide catalysts and liquefaction activity.     

Gas-phase epoxidation of propylene through radicals generated by silica-supported molybdenum oxide

It was found that silica-supported molybdenum oxide was high effective for the epoxidation of propylene among various silica-supported metal oxides. The post-catalytic bed volume played an important role in its formation. On a MoO_x/SiO₂ with 0.255 mmol/g-SiO₂, a propylene conversion of 17.6% and a PO selectivity of 43.6% were obtained at 5 atm, 573 K and flow rates of C₃H₆/O₂/He = 10/5/10 cm³ min⁻¹. The characterization studies indicated that crystalline MoO₃ nano-particle species was more effective for propylene epoxidation to PO than molecularly dispersed Mo oxide species. The reaction mechanism of propylene epoxidation on MoO_x/SiO₂ catalysts is hypothesized to involve gas-phase radicals generated at relatively low temperature by the dispersed molybdenum oxide species. These radicals participated in homogeneous reactions with molecular oxygen to produce propylene oxide.     

Metals in commercial catalysts: 1. Molybdenum and tungsten

Information on the production and consumption of molybdenum and tungsten in the world and in Russia is provided. The lowering of domestic consumption of these metals in the Russian industry is demonstrated. The use of these metals in catalysts manufacturing in Russia is considered. The assortment of domestic molybdenum- and tungsten-containing catalysts is discussed, and their consumption is estimated. The current demand for molybdenum and tungsten in catalyst manufacturing is small because of the high impact of imported catalysts and low level in the development of chemical catalytic processes. Certain applications of molybdenum- and tungsten-containing catalysts are considered. It is shown that the consumption of molybdenum and tungsten in the manufacturing of high-added value products (catalysts) may grow at the expense of the replacement of imported catalysts by competitive domestic molybdenum- and tungsten-containing catalysts and their use in new processes.     

油溶性纳米MoS2加氢催化剂的合成、表征和应用

传统MoS₂加氢催化剂粒径大、油溶性差而催化效率相对较低。纳米粒子合成方法很多，其中液相化学合成技术尤其水(溶剂)热、微乳液、单层二硫化钼重堆积和微波液相介电加热法等更为便捷、高效。在油溶性纳米MoS₂的合成中，表面修饰剂的选择最为关键。综述了油溶性纳米MoS₂的合成、表征和应用研究进展，提出了高稳定性、高活性和油溶性纳米MoS₂加氢催化剂高效合成优化参数，为实现工业应用提供了参考。