A comparative study of Ag/Al2O3 and Cu/Al2O3 catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction of NO by C3H6

The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by C₃H₆ in excess oxygen was evaluated and compared over Ag/Al₂O₃ and Cu/Al₂O₃ catalysts. Ag/Al₂O₃ showed a high activity for NO reduction. However, Cu/Al₂O₃ showed a high activity for C₃H₆ oxidation. The partial oxidation of C₃H₆ gave surface enolic species and acetate species on the Ag/Al₂O₃, but only an acetate species was clearly observed on the Cu/Al₂O₃. The enolic species is a more active intermediate towards NO + O₂ to yield—NCO species than the acetate species on the Ag/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The Ag and Cu metal loadings and phase changes on Al₂O₃ support can affect the activity and selectivity of Ag/Al₂O₃ and Cu/Al₂O₃ catalysts, but the formation of enolic species is the main reason why the activity of the Ag/Al₂O₃ catalyst for NO reduction is higher than that of the Cu/Al₂O₃ catalyst.     

The oxidizing role of CO2 at mild temperature on ceria-based catalysts

For thermodynamic reasons, CO₂ has always been considered as inert at mild reaction temperatures (300 °C). In this study, we show that CO₂ may be used as a valuable compound for the catalytic combustion of methane (CCM), if ceria-based materials are used as support for the palladium active phase. Adding CO₂ in the feed significantly improves performances of ceria-zirconia supported catalysts. On the contrary, catalytic performances are inhibited on Pd/γ-Al₂O₃. Inhibition can be avoided by mixing the Pd/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst with some CeO₂ evidencing cooperation phenomena between both catalysts. In situ DRIFTS experiments show that the inhibition of the alumina-supported catalyst is not due to formation of carbonates species. After an in situ reducing pre-treatment, pure CO₂ is able to rapidly oxidize reduced Pd/Ce_0.21Zr_0.79O₂ catalyst at 300 °C. Dissociation of CO₂ on Ce_0.21Zr_0.79O₂ would be responsible for the oxidation process. Thus, CO₂ helps in replenishing the O reservoir (OSC) of the Ce-Zr-O support which is normally consumed by reductants such as CH₄, H₂ or other HC's. XPS experiments show enrichment in oxygen species bound to Ce (Low BE O1s) on the surface of ceria-zirconia when working in the presence of CO₂. Implications of these results on the behavior of ceria-containing catalysts can be important for practical applications, e.g., in automotive exhaust catalysis.     

Characterisation and behaviour of Ti/TiO2/noble metal anodes

The morphology, composition and the electrical and electrochemical behaviour of the anodic microporous layer, prepared by the galvanostatic anodisation of Ti after sparking, followed by galvanostatic deposition of Pt or Ir have been investigated. These electrodes are proposed to function as dimensionally stable anodes (DSAs). For Ti/TiO₂/Pt electrodes, Pt is deposited within some of the micropores of the oxide film. In contrast, for Ti/TiO₂/Ir, the metal is deposited preferentially on the top surface. This difference is thought to result from the position of the metal deposition potential with respect to the flat band potential of n-TiO₂. Optical imaging of both types of DSA suggests that only a few sites on the surface are responsible for electron exchange at the DSA-electrolyte interface. C-AFM measurements of Ti/TiO₂/Pt samples subjected to long-term anodic polarisation, suggest that the Ti-noble metal contact is progressively insulated by thickening of the TiO₂ barrier layer, promoting passivation of the DSA. For Ir coated anodes, catalytic activity is directly related to the presence of Ir and to the stability of the catalytic oxide layer. Under Cu electrowinning conditions, the electrochemically formed hydrated Ir oxide was found to be catalytically less stable, than the iridium oxide film subjected to a heat treatment.     

Combined CO2 reforming and partial oxidation of n-heptane on noble metal zirconia catalysts

The combined CO₂ reforming and partial oxidation (POX) of n-heptane was studied on various noble metal zirconia catalysts between 700 and 900 °C. The activity order of the metals was Rh > Pd > Ir > Pt. Selectivity to syngas increased with the activity of the catalysts but the H₂ to CO molar ratio decreased. The activity and selectivity of the 0.25 wt% Rh/ZrO₂ catalyst were close to the performance of a commercial 15 wt% NiO/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The conversions and product compositions were compared to the calculated thermodynamic equilibria.     

Theoretical assessment of the catalytic (Pt/TiO2) oxidation of formaldehyde at ambient temperature

A recent article [C. Zhang, H. He, K. Tanaka, Catal. Commun. 6 (2005) 211] investigates the use of a Pt/TiO₂ catalyst for the oxidation of formaldehyde. The findings demonstrate nearly complete oxidation at ambient temperature (25 °C) for values of the surface velocity in the range 5–10 × 10⁴ h⁻¹ and a 45% destruction when using a surface velocity of 20 × 10⁴ h⁻¹.In the present communication, this oxidation was assessed by theoretical considerations of the reaction kinetics. The destruction efficiency was predicted using a first-order reaction rate expression, combined with different theoretical or semi-empirical equations for the intrinsic reaction rate constant. Predicted and experimental data are in fair agreement, thus validating the theoretical approach and confirming the experimental results.     

Pt/MnOx–CeO2 catalysts for the complete oxidation of formaldehyde at ambient temperature

MnO_x–CeO₂ mixed oxides with a Mn/(Mn + Ce) molar ratios of 0–1 were prepared by a modified coprecipitation method and investigated for the complete oxidation of formaldehyde. The MnO_x–CeO₂ with Mn/(Mn + Ce) molar ratio of 0.5 exhibited the highest catalytic activity among the MnO_x–CeO₂ mixed oxides. Structure analysis by X-ray powder diffraction and temperature-programmed reduction of hydrogen revealed that the formation of MnO_x–CeO₂ solid solution greatly improved the low-temperature reducibility, resulting in a higher catalytic activity for the oxidation of formaldehyde. Promoting effect of Pt on the MnO_x–CeO₂ mixed oxide indicated that both the Pt precursors and the reduction temperature greatly affected the catalytic performance. Pt/MnO_x–CeO₂ catalyst prepared from chlorine-free precursor showed extremely high activity and stability after pretreatment with hydrogen at 473 K. 100% conversion of formaldehyde was achieved at ambient temperature and no deactivation was observed for 120 h time-on-stream. The promoting effect of Pt was ascribed to enhance the effective activation of oxygen molecule on the MnO_x–CeO₂ support.     

CO oxidation at low temperature over Pd supported on CeO2-TiO2 composite oxide

Low temperature CO oxidation was carried out over CeO₂-TiO₂ composite oxide and thereon supported Pd catalysts. The effects of Ce/Ti ratio and pre-treatments of calcination and reduction on the catalytic behaviour were investigated. The CO oxidation starts at about 220 °C over CeO₂-TiO₂ and the pre-reduction treatment has little influence on the catalytic activity. Pd supported on CeO₂-TiO₂ (Pd/CeO₂-TiO₂) exhibits high activity for CO oxidation and a complete conversion of CO to CO₂ can be achieved even at ambient temperature, which suggests a synergistic effect between Pd and CeO₂-TiO₂. The activity and stability of Pd/CeO₂-TiO₂ can be further improved by the pre-reduction treatment. Ce/Ti ratio influences the catalytic behaviour significantly; the catalyst Pd/CeO₂-TiO₂ with a Ce/Ti mole ratio of 0.20 (Pd/Ce20Ti) owns the highest activity and stability, which suggests an optimization of the Pd-Ce-Ti interaction in Pd/Ce20Ti. The calcined Pd/CeO₂-TiO₂ with a Ce/Ti mole ratio higher than 0.10 shows a distorted light-off profile with the temperature, which implies an alternation of the reaction mechanism with increasing temperature.     

Development of a Pt/TiO2 catalyst on an anodic alumite film for catalytic decomposition of formaldehyde at room temperature

A Pt/TiO₂ catalyst was prepared on an anodic alumite film and employed in the catalytic decomposition of formaldehyde at room temperature. The results show that the catalyst exhibits good activity toward the decomposition of formaldehyde at room temperature when the anodic alumite film is treated in hot water. Moreover, in accordance with the process requirements, the developed catalyst can be formed into various shapes such as a mesh, plate, fin, serrate etc., because aluminum can be formed into any shapes.     

负载型贵金属低温催化氧化甲醛催化剂的研究

制备贵金属低温催化氧化甲醛催化剂,研究了催化剂结构特征及催化氧化甲醛机理,并考察了催化剂性能。采用沉积-沉淀法制备负载型贵金属低温催化氧化甲醛催化剂,优化组成及制备条件,采用XRD、FT-IR、H_2-TPR、拉曼等对催化剂进行表征分析。催化剂最佳制备条件:NaOH为沉淀剂,载体n(Cu)/n(Mn)摩尔比为1∶2,Pt负载量(质量分数)为1%,载体制备pH为9—10,贵金属负载pH为9.5。Pt_1/Cu_(0.5)Mn催化剂以非化学计量比Cu_(0.9)Mn_(1.8)O_4无定形态晶体特征峰存在,Pt金属在载体表面分布均匀,且贵金属与载体相互作用使催化剂表面氧缺位浓度增加,表面活性氧物种增多,催化剂在室温下表现出良好的稳定性和重复性。室温下甲醛和氧气在催化剂表面共吸附,甲醛首先被催化剂表面活性氧氧化为DOM,由于DOM很活跃,在催化剂上很快被表面氧氧化成甲酸根,甲酸根在催化剂表面氧和气相氧的共同作用下氧化生成CO,最终被完全氧化为CO_2。其中甲酸盐物种向CO转化步骤是整个反应的速控步骤。     

Performance and characterization of supported metal catalysts for complete oxidation of formaldehyde at low temperatures

Activities of a series of metals (Pt, Pd, Rh, Cu, Mn) supported on TiO₂ were investigated for the catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde. Among them, Pt/TiO₂ was found to be the most promising catalyst. Nitrogen adsorption, hydrogen chemisorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) by H₂ were used to characterize the platinum catalysts. Using Ce_0.8Zr_0.2O₂, Ce_0.2Zr_0.8O₂, SiO₂ as supports instead of TiO₂, the activity sequence of 0.6 wt.% platinum with respect to the supports is TiO₂ > SiO₂ > Ce_0.8Zr_0.2O₂ > Ce_0.2Zr_0.8O₂, and this appears to be correlated with the dispersion of platinum on supports rather than the specific surface areas of the catalysts. Platinum loading on TiO₂ has a great effect on the catalytic activity, and 0.6 wt.% Pt/TiO₂ catalyst was observed to be the most active, which could be attributed to the well-dispersed platinum surface phase. The reduction temperature greatly affects the particle size and, consequently, the catalytic activity. The smaller particle size of platinum, due to its high dispersion on support, has a positive effect on catalytic performance. Increasing formaldehyde concentration and space velocity exhibits an inhibiting effect on the catalytic activity.     

Hierarchical structured TiO2 nano-tubes for formaldehyde sensing

Hierarchical structured TiO₂ nano-tubes were prepared following a two-step method: the highly ordered uniform TiO₂ nanotube arrays were first grown by the conventional electrochemical anodization of the Ti metal sheet followed by mechanical milling of the as-fabricated TiO₂ nanotube arrays. The obtained nanotubes with a length around 400 nm and opening diameter ∼100 nm were formed mixed with the spherical TiO₂ single crystals with a diameter around 10 nm indicating hierarchical nanostructure. The as-synthesized TiO₂ hierarchical nanotubes based resistive-type chemical sensor exhibits good sensitivity to formaldehyde at room temperatures with or without UV-irradiation. The response of the sensor increased almost linearly as a function of the concentration of formaldehyde from 10–50 ppm under UV irradiation. The response of the sensor to different relative humidity and other possible interferents such as ammonia, methanol and alcohol was investigated. The larger response of the sensor to formaldehyde relative to these interferents is suggested to be due to the deeper diffusion of formaldehyde into the TiO₂ nanotubes.     

A comparison study on non-thermal plasma-assisted catalytic reduction of NO by C3H6 at low temperatures between Ag/USY and Ag/Al2O3 catalysts

A comparison study was carried out on non-thermal plasma (NTP)-assisted selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x by propene over Ag/USY and Ag/Al₂O₃ catalysts. Ag/USY was almost inactive in thermal SCR while it showed obvious activities in NTP-assisted SCR at 100 °C–200 °C. Although the NO_x conversion over Ag/Al₂O₃ was also enhanced at 300 °C–400 °C by the assistance of NTP, it was ineffective below 250 °C. The intermediates over Ag/USY and Ag/Al₂O₃ were investigated using in situ DRIFTS method. It was found that key intermediates in HC-SCR, such as NCO, CN, oxygenates and some N-containing organic species were enriched after the assistance of NTP. The differences in the behaviors of above intermediates were not found between these two kinds of catalysts. However, some evidences suggested that different properties of the absorbed NO_x species resulted in the distinction of SCR reactions over Ag/USY and Ag/Al₂O₃. TPD profiles of Ag/Al₂O₃ showed that nitrates formed over the catalyst were quite stable at low temperatures, which might occupy the active sites and were unfavorable to SCR reactions. The nitrates over Ag/USY were unstable, among which the unidentate nitrate species is probably contributed to the SCR reactions at low temperatures.     

NO reduction with NH3 over chromia–vanadia catalysts supported on TiO2: an in situ Raman spectroscopic study

In situ Raman spectroscopy was used for studying the ternary 2% CrO₃–6% V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalyst, for which a synergistic effect between vanadia and chromia leads to enhanced catalytic performance for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH₃. The structural properties of this catalyst were studied under NH₃/NO/O₂/N₂/SO₂/H₂O atmospheres at temperatures up to 400 °C and major structural interactions between the surface chromia and vanadia species are observed. The effects of oxygen, ammonia, water vapor and sulfur dioxide presence on the in situ Raman spectra are presented and discussed.     

Photocatalysis by polyoxometallates and TiO2: A comparative study

Polyoxometallates (POMs) as a homogeneous photocatalyst and TiO₂ as a heterogeneous photocatalyst seem to exhibit overall similar photocatalytic behavior. Both systems cause photodecomposition of a variety of organic pollutants via the formation and decay of several similar intermediates formed by OH addition (hydroxylation), dehalogenation, deamination, decarboxylation, etc. The final degradation products, for most organic substrates for both systems are CO₂, H₂O and inorganic anions. The similarity of behavior has been attributed to the formation of the common powerful oxidizing reagent, OH radical, from the reaction of the excited catalyst and water molecules.

On the other hand, lately, various laboratories have pointed out differences in reactivity and degradation mechanism between the two photocatalysts. The results are interesting and to a great extent contradictory.

This study compares the photodegradation of four substrates with diversified structures, namely, atrazine, fenitrothion, 4-chlorophenol (4-ClPh), and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) by both PW₁₂O₄₀³⁻ and TiO₂ and how their photodegradation is affected by the presence of strong OH radical scavengers, i.e., Br⁻ and isopropyl alcohol (i-prOH).

The results provide substantial evidence that the literature data on the apparent photooxidation mechanism of these two categories of photocatalysts is circumstantial, depending on substrate and the mode of investigation. Overall, though, the action of OH radicals relative to h⁺ appears to be more pronounced with PW₁₂O₄₀³⁻ than TiO₂.

With respect to thermal (dark) reaction of photoreduced catalysts, both systems can deliver their electrons to a variety of oxidants including metal ions. The advantages of POM relative to TiO₂ relates to the selective reduction precipitation of metal ions and to their unique ability to form metal nanoparticles in which POM serve both as reducing reagents and stabilizers.     

A comparative study of the partial oxidation of methane to formaldehyde on bulk and silica supported MoO3 and V2O5 catalysts

The mechanism of the partial oxidation of methane to formaldehyde with O₂ has been investigated on bulk and differently loaded silica supported (4–7 wt%) MoO₃ and (5–50 wt%) V₂O₅ catalysts at 600–650°C in a pulse reactor connected to a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The reaction rate and product distribution in the presence and in the absence of gas-phase O₂ have been evaluated. On bare SiO₂, low and medium loaded silica supported MoO₃ and V₂O₅ catalysts the reaction proceeds via a concerted mechanism involving the activation of gas-phase oxygen on the reduced sites of the catalyst surface as proved by the direct correlation between catalytic activity and density of reduced sites evaluated in steady-state conditions, while on highly loaded catalysts as well as on bulk MoO₃ and V₂O₅ the reaction rate drops dramatically and the reaction pathway via redox mechanism becomes predominant. The results indicate that the surface mechanism is essentially more effective than the redox mechanism enabling also a higher selectivity to HCHO.     

Effect of calcination temperature on the low-temperature oxidation of CO over CoOx/TiO2 catalysts

A 5 wt% CoO_x/TiO₂ catalyst has been used to study the effect of calcination temperature on the activity of this catalyst for CO oxidation at 100 °C under a net oxidizing condition in a continuous flow type fixed-bed reactor system, and the catalyst samples have been characterized using TPD, XPS and XRD measurements. The catalyst after calcination at 450 °C gave highest activity for this low-temperature CO oxidation, and XPS measurements yielded that a 780.2-eV Co 2p_3/2 main peak appeared with this catalyst sample and this binding energy was similar to that measured with pure Co₃O₄. After calcination at 570 °C, the catalyst, which had possessed practically no activity in the oxidation reaction, gave a Co 2p_3/2 main structure peak at 781.3 eV which was very similar to those obtained for synthesized Co_nTiO_n+2 compounds (CoTiO₃ and Co₂TiO₄), and this catalyst sample had relatively negligible CO chemisorption as observed by TPD spectra. XRD peaks indicating only the formation of Co₃O₄ particles on titania surface were developed in the catalyst samples after calcination at temperatures ≥350 °C. Based on these characterization results, five types of Co species could be modeled to exist with the catalyst calcined at different temperatures. Among these surface Co species, the Type A clean Co₃O₄ particles were predominant on a sample of the catalyst after calcination at 450 °C and highly active for CO oxidation at 100 °C, and the calcination at 570 °C gave the Type B Co₃O₄ particles with complete Co_nTiO_n+2 overlayers inactive for this oxidation reaction.     

TiO2 deactivation during gas-phase photocatalytic oxidation of ethanol

The deactivation of TiO₂ Degussa P25 during the gas-phase photocatalytic oxidation of ethanol has been studied. Water vapor plays a clear competitive role for surface sites adsorption, thus hampering the ethanol photo-oxidation. Dark adsorption of ethanol on a fresh catalyst shows a Langmuirian behavior with the formation of a monolayer of adsorbate. Dark adsorption in a TiO₂ surface that has been used in consecutive photocatalytic experiments of ethanol degradation gives non-Langmuirian isotherms, indicating the existence of noticeable changes of the catalyst surface structure. After several irradiations the catalyst activity decreases. Such deactivation has been investigated, observing that the rate constant of ethanol and acetaldehyde (its main degradation product) oxidation decreases with irradiation time. Several surface treatments have been studied in order to find suitable procedures for catalytic activity recovery, but regular decay of activity is always observed after every treatment.     

TiO2基催化剂还原CO2研究进展

能源危机和环境污染是当今世界发展面临的两大挑战,如何有效缓解煤、石油等不可再生化石资源过度消耗所引发的能源危机,以及由此造成CO₂过量排放引起的温室效应问题,是当前人类发展亟待解决的重大科学问题之一。基于此,本文综述了近年来以TiO₂为光催化剂,以绿色、清洁的太阳光能催化还原CO₂成低价态含碳燃料(如CH₄、CH₃OH、HCHO、HCOOH、C₂H₅OH等)研究进展。在TiO₂光还原CO₂机理基础上,对元素掺杂、半导体复合与染料敏化、高活性晶面调控、低维纳米结构设计、助催化剂、Z型结构设计和单原子催化等方法来提高光还原CO₂反应效率和选择性进行分析,并指出目前研究存在的关键问题和未来CO₂光还原的发展方向。     

Niobium sulfide as a dopant for Mo/TiO2 catalysts

Mo/TiO₂ catalysts were modified with Nb by two different methods, sol–gel and surface deposition, in order to study the effect of Nb incorporation on the thiophene HDS activity. The results show that the formation of Nb–Ti mixed oxides leads to catalysts with poor HDS activity while the deposition of Nb oxide species on the surface of TiO₂ leads to catalysts with activities larger than those of Mo/Al₂O₃ and Mo/TiO₂. This increase in activity was attributed to the formation of a larger population of Mo sulfur anionic vacancies when Nb was surface deposited on the TiO₂.     

Partial oxidation kinetics of m-hydroxybenzyl alcohol with noble metal catalysts in supercritical carbon dioxide

Partial oxidation of m-hydroxybenzyl alcohol was studied over several supported noble metal catalysts in a temperature range from 373 to 413 K, up to 2 MPa of oxygen pressure and 20 MPa of carbon dioxide pressure. The major product detected was m-hydroxybenzaldehyde. A charcoal supported palladium catalyst gave the highest yield of the aldehyde. For high temperature above 393 K and high oxygen pressure above 0.5 MPa, total oxidation was observed, which caused the selectivity of m-hydroxybenzaldehyde to decrease. Supercritical carbon dioxide medium seemed to improve heat dissipation of the reaction to allow the partial oxidation of m-hydroxybenzyl alcohol to occur under mild conditions. The partial oxidation of benzyl alcohol over a charcoal supported palladium catalyst was also examined for comparison and the major product formed was benzaldehyde. The conversion of benzyl alcohol and the selectivity to benzaldehyde was higher than those for the case of partial oxidation of m-hydroxybenzyl alcohol.