Kinetic experiments and modeling of NO oxidation and SCR of NOx with decane over Cu- and Fe-MFI catalysts

The kinetic model of the reduction of NO to N₂ with decane, developed based on the experimental data over Fe-MFI catalyst, has been applied for the oxidation of NO to NO₂ and reduction of NO₂ to N₂ with decane over Cu-MFI catalyst. The model fits well the experimental data of oxidation of NO as well as reduction of NO to N₂. Remarkable differences have been found in performance of Cu-MFI and Fe-MFI catalysts. While Fe-MFI is more active in oxidation of NO to NO₂, Cu-MFI exhibits much higher activity in the reduction of NO with decane. The kinetic model indicates that the significantly lower activity of Fe-MFI in comparison with Cu-MFI in transformation of NO_x to nitrogen is due to higher rate of transformation of NO₂, formed in the first step by the oxidation of NO, back to NO instead to molecular nitrogen.     

Catalytic oxidation of HCN over a 0.5% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst

The adsorption of HCN on, its catalytic oxidation with 6% O₂ over 0.5% Pt/Al₂O₃, and the subsequent oxidation of strongly bound chemisorbed species upon heating were investigated. The observed N-containing products were N₂O, NO and NO₂, and some residual adsorbed N-containing species were oxidized to NO and NO₂ during subsequent temperature programmed oxidation. Because N-atom balance could not be obtained after accounting for the quantities of each of these product species, we propose that N₂ and was formed. Both the HCN conversion and the selectivity towards different N-containing products depend strongly on the reaction temperature and the composition of the reactant gas mixture. In particular, total HCN conversion reaches 95% above 250 °C. Furthermore, the temperature of maximum HCN conversion to N₂O is located between 200 and 250 °C, while raising the reaction temperature increases the proportion of NO_x in the products. The co-feeding of H₂O and C₃H₆ had little, if any effect on the total HCN conversion, but C₃H₆ addition did increase the conversion to NO and decrease the conversion to NO₂, perhaps due to the competing presence of adsorbed fragments of reductive C₃H₆. Evidence is also presented that introduction of NO and NO₂ into the reactant gas mixture resulted in additional reaction pathways between these NO_x species and HCN that provide for lean-NO_x reduction coincident with HCN oxidation.     

Modification of the surface reactivity of Cu-MFI during chemisorption and transformation of the reagents in the selective reduction of NO with propane and O2

The steady-and unsteady-state catalytic behaviour of Cu-MFI in the conversion of propane and NO in the presence of O₂ is reported, showing how the chemisorption and transformation of reactants may influence the surface reactivity. Various effects were observed: (i) a change in the surface reactivity and kinetics in going from low to high concentrations of NO or propane, (ii) the transformation of NO to N₂ and N₂O promoted at low temperature (250°C) by oxygen in the absence of hydrocarbon, (iii) the influence of NO over the surface reactivity of the catalyst in the conversion of propane and (iv) the influence of surface precoverage with oxidized nitrogen oxides (N_xO_y) or carboxylate species on the catalyst transient reactivity in the reduction of NO to N₂. In particular, Cu-MFI is initially more active when oxidized nitrogen oxides are present, suggesting that the active intermediate in the reduction of NO with propane is a complex formed by the reaction of nitrate with activated hydrocarbon. It is shown, however, that strongly bound oxidized nitrogen oxides may have also additional effects on the surface reactivity: (i) can promote the conversion of NO to N₂ and N₂O in transient conditions and (ii) can give a partial inhibition of the surface reactivity blocking copper ions due to their strong chemisorption. Furthermore, it is shown that NO reacts faster with oxygen than hydrocarbon forming N_xO_y species which are then the oxidizing agent for the hydrocarbon. It is thus suggested that the surface reactivity of Cu-MFI in the reduction of NO with propane/oxygen depends on the surface population of nitrogen oxide adspecies which influence not only the surface reactivity, but also the pathway of hydrocarbon oxidation.     

The reactions of possible intermediates in the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides by hydrocarbons

The reactions of formamide and nitromethane, two possible intermediates in the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides by methane, have been studied over Co-ZSM5, H-ZSM5 and Cu-ZSM5. Formamide, a possible surrogate for nitrosomethane, reacts completely below 250°C over Co-ZSM5 with formation of NH₃ and CO by one route and HCN and H₂O by another. Inclusion of NO causes partial conversion of NH₃ to N₂ at 300°C. H-ZSM5 behaves similarly but with a higher conversion of NH₃ in the presence of NO. Cu-ZSM5 gives CO₂ and N₂ alone, apparently because of its high oxidation activity. The reaction of nitromethane over H-ZSM5 is similar to that previously established for Co-ZSM5 with NH₃ and CO₂ as the initial products and subsequent N₂ formation by the NH₃-SCR reaction. Again N₂ formation is more extensive with H-ZSM5 than Co-ZSM5 when NO is present while Cu-ZSM5 gives only CO₂ and N₂. Deactivation is characteristic of the reaction of nitromethane over all three zeolites at temperatures below ≈280°C with eventual breakthrough of isocyanic acid (HNCO) as a product. In situ FTIR measurements with H-ZSM5 indicate that deactivation is due to reactions of HNCO to form deposits of s-triazine compounds which can be removed by NO₂. The overall conclusion is that nitromethane and formamide, and by inference nitrosomethane, react in ways which are consistent with the possibility that species of these types could be intermediates in the methane-SCR reaction over zeolite catalysts. Distinction between them is possible only with catalysts of low oxidation capability when CO formation is consistent with the involvement of nitrosomethane and CO₂ formation with that of nitromethane.     

The role of Brønsted acidity in the SCR of NO over Fe-MFI catalysts

The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with isobutane and with NH₃ was studied over Fe-MFI catalysts which differ strongly in Brønsted acidity but are similar in Fe content and structure of Fe sites, having shown similar activity in N₂O decomposition in related work. The catalysts were prepared by exchange of Na-ZSM-5 (Si/Al ca. 14) with Fe²⁺ ions formed in situ by acidic dissolution of Fe powder and by steam extraction of framework iron from Fe-silicalite or from H-[Fe]-ZSM-5 (Si/Al ca. 30). The characterization of acidic properties by ammonia TPD and by IR of adsorbed pyridine at different temperatures revealed marked differences in acidity between exchanged and steam-activated samples, the latter being (almost) void of strong Brønsted sites. The structural similarity of the iron sites was confirmed by UV–Vis and EPR spectroscopic results. The weakly acidic samples were inferior both in isobutane-SCR and in ammonia-SCR. With isobutane, dramatic differences over the whole range of parameters studied imply a vital role of Brønsted acidity in the reaction mechanism (e.g. in isobutane activation). In NH₃-SCR, large reaction rates were achieved with non-acidic catalysts as well, but a promoting effect of acidity was noted for catalysts that contain the iron in the most favorable site structure (oligomeric Fe oxo clusters). This suggests that an acid-catalyzed step (e.g. the decomposition of NH₄NO₂) may be rate-limiting at low temperatures.     

Influence of NH3 and NO oxidation on the SCR reaction mechanism on copper/nickel and vanadium oxide catalysts supported on alumina and titania

The influence of ammonia and nitric oxide oxidation on the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO by ammonia with copper/nickel and vanadium oxide catalysts, supported on titania or alumina have been investigated, paying special attention to N₂O formation. In the SCR reaction, the VTi catalyst had a higher activity than VAl at low temperatures, while the CuNiAl catalyst had a higher activity than CuNiTi. A linear relationship between the reaction rate of ammonia oxidation and the initial reduction temperature of the catalysts obtained by H₂-TPR showed that the formation rate of NH species in copper/nickel catalysts would be higher than in vanadia catalysts. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) showed that copper/nickel catalysts presented ammonia coordinated on Lewis acid sites, whereas ammonium ion adsorbed on Brønsted acid sites dominated on vanadia catalysts. The NO oxidation experiments revealed that copper/nickel catalysts had an increase of the NO₂ and N₂O concentrations with the temperature. NO could be adsorbed on copper/nickel catalysts and the NO₂ intermediate species could play an important role in the reaction mechanism. It was suggested that the presence of adsorbed NO₂ species could be related to the N₂O formation.     

Role of active oxygen transients in selective catalytic reduction of N2O with CH4 over Fe-zeolite catalysts

Sharp NO and O₂ desorption peaks, which were caused by the decomposition of nitro and nitrate species over Fe species, were observed in the range of 520–673 K in temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) from Fe-MFI after H₂ treatment at 773 K or high-temperature (HT) treatment at 1073 K followed by N₂O treatment. The amounts of O₂ and NO desorption were dependent on the pretreatment pressure of N₂O in the H₂ and N₂O treatment. The adsorbed species could be regenerated by the H₂ and N₂O treatment after TPD, and might be considered to be active oxygen species in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of N₂O with CH₄. However, the reaction rate of CH₄ activation by the adsorbed species formed after the H₂ and N₂O or the HT and N₂O treatment was not so high as that of the CH₄ + N₂O reaction over the catalyst after O₂ treatment. The simultaneous presence of CH₄ and N₂O is essential for the high activity of the reaction, which suggests that nascent oxygen species formed by N₂O dissociation can activate CH₄ in the SCR of N₂O with CH₄.     

Influence of NO2 on the selective catalytic reduction of NO with ammonia over Fe-ZSM5

The influence of NO₂ on the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with ammonia was studied over Fe-ZSM5 coated on cordierite monolith. NO₂ in the feed drastically enhanced the NO_x removal efficiency (DeNOx) up to 600 °C, whereas the promoting effect was most pronounced at the low temperature end. The maximum activity was found for NO₂/NO_x = 50%, which is explained by the stoichiometry of the actual SCR reaction over Fe-ZSM5, requiring a NH₃:NO:NO₂ ratio of 2:1:1. In this context, it is a special feature of Fe-ZSM5 to keep this activity level almost up to NO₂/NO_x = 100%. The addition of NO₂ to the feed gas was always accompanied by the production of N₂O at lower and intermediate temperatures. The absence of N₂O at the high temperature end is explained by the N₂O decomposition and N₂O-SCR reaction. Water and oxygen influence the SCR reaction indirectly. Oxygen enhances the oxidation of NO to NO₂ and water suppresses the oxidation of NO to NO₂, which is an essential preceding step of the actual SCR reaction for NO₂/NO_x < 50%. DRIFT spectra of the catalyst under different pre-treatment and operating conditions suggest a common intermediate, from which the main product N₂ is formed with NO and the side-product N₂O by reaction with gas phase NO₂.     

Role of supported metals in the selective reduction of nitrogen monoxide with hydrocarbons over metal/alumina catalysts

The promoting effect of supported metals on alumina catalyst was investigated for the reduction of nitrogen monoxide in oxygen-rich atmospheres. For NO reduction with propene over impregnated CoO/A1₂O₃, the first reaction step was found to be the oxidation of NO to NO₂ probably catalyzed by dispersed cobalt species. The next reaction step, which is the reaction of NO₂ with propene to form N₂, was considered to take place on the alumina surface. Although the activity of impregnated FeO/A1₂O₃ was low because of the presence of large iron oxide particles catalyzing propene oxidation with dioxygen, FeO/A1₂O₃ prepared with sol-gel method showed excellent deNO_x activity.     

The importance of Fe loading on the N2O reduction with NH3 over Fe-MFI: Effect of acid site formation on Fe species

Effect of the loading amount of Fe over ion-exchanged Fe-MFI catalysts on the catalytic performance of N₂O reduction with NH₃ was investigated, and the results indicated that the turnover frequency (TOF) was almost constant in the Fe/Al range between 0.05 and 0.40. The activity of N₂O + NH₃ reaction was much lower than that of N₂O + CH₄ reaction over Fe-MFI (Fe/Al = 0.40), and the preadsorption of NH₃ decreased drastically the activity of N₂O + CH₄ reaction. The temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of NH₃ showed the formation of stronger acid sites on Fe-MFI (Fe/Al = 0.24 and 0.40), and the amount of the acid sites agrees well with the desorption amount O₂ in O₂-TPD in the low temperature range. The acid sites gave a 3610 cm⁻¹ peak (Brønsted acid) in FTIR observation. These results suggest that the acid sites were formed on the bridge oxide ions in binuclear Fe species. Adsorbed NH₃ on the strong acid sites inhibited N₂O dissociation, which can be related to the low activity of N₂O + NH₃ reaction over Fe-MFI with high Fe loading.     

THE PREDICTION OF NOx FORMATION FOR THE COMBUSTION OF NITROGEN-DOPED DROPLETS OF HEXANE INSIDE A REFRACTORY TUBE

The detailed kinetic model developed by Tang and Churchill for the prediction of the combustion of premixed-gaseous or evaporated-liquid hydrocarbon fuels in a refractory plug flow burner has been extended to account for nitrogen compounds in the fuel. In the modified model the nitrogen compounds are postulated to decompose thermally to HCN in the flame front prior to oxidation. The concentrations of NO₂ computed from this model for 0.795% wt. nitrogen in hexane are found to be in excellent agreement with measured values for fuel-lean mixtures doped with diethylamine, isobutylamine, pyridine and piperidine, and in fair agreement for fuel-rich mixtures up to an equivalence ratio of 1.3. The formation of NO₂ from fuel-nitrogen is found to be essentially complete after 1 ms in the postflame zone. All nitrogen-containing species except N₂ and NO are computed to be in negligible concentration for fuel-lean mixtures. Significant concentrations of HCN, NH₃ and HN₂ are predicted for the combustion of very fuel-rich mixtures. The computed concentrations of O, OH and CO are not changed significantly by the addition of fuel-nitrogen.     

Rôles of catalytic oxidation in control of vehicle exhaust emissions

Catalytic oxidation was initially associated with the early development of catalysis and it subsequently became a part of many industrial processes, so it is not surprising it was used to remove hydrocarbons and CO when it became necessary to control these emissions from cars. Later NOx was reduced in a process involving reduction over a Pt/Rh catalyst followed by air injection in front of a Pt-based oxidation catalyst. If over-reduction of NO to NH₃ took place, or if H₂S was produced, it was important these undesirable species were converted to NOx and SOx in the catalytic oxidation stage. When exhaust gas composition could be kept stoichiometric hydrocarbons, CO and NOx were simultaneously converted over a single Pt/Rh three-way catalyst (TWC). With modern TWCs car tailpipe emissions can be exceptionally low. NO is not catalytically dissociated to O₂ and N₂ in the presence of O₂, it can only be reduced to N₂. Its control from lean-burn gasoline engines involves catalytic oxidation to NO₂ and thence nitrate that is stored and periodically reduced to N₂ by exhaust gas enrichment. This method is being modified for diesel engines. These engines produce soot, and filtration is being introduced to remove it. The exhaust temperature of heavy-duty diesels is sufficient (250–400 °C) for NO to be catalytically oxidised to NO₂ over an upstream platinum catalyst that smoothly oxidises soot in the filter. The exhaust gas temperature of passenger car diesels is too low for this to take place all of the time, so trapped soot is periodically burnt in O₂ above 550 °C. Catalytic oxidation of higher than normal amounts of hydrocarbon and CO over an upstream catalyst is used to give sufficient temperature for soot combustion with O₂ to take place.     

Formation of nitrogen oxides from fuel-N through HCN and NH3: a model-compound study

The conversion of fuel-nitrogen to HCN and NH₃ and to nitrogen oxides was studied with nitrogen-containing model compounds, chosen to represent the main nitrogen and oxygen functionalities in fossil fuels. Two kinds of experiments were performed in an entrained-flow reactor at 800 °C. The conversion of model-compound-N to HCN and NH₃ was determined under inert conditions, and the formation of NO, N₂O and NO₂ was determined under oxidizing conditions. In inert atmosphere, oxygen-containing functional groups had an important effect on the ratio of HCN to NH₃. In particular, OH groups bound directly in the ring structure increased the conversion of nitrogen to NH₃. In oxidizing atmosphere, the conversions of model-compound-N to N₂O were high, but the substituent groups had no well-defined effect on the ratio of N₂O to NO. The formation of NO₂ was insignificant.     

The origin of N2O formation in the selective catalytic reduction of NOx by NH3 in O2 rich atmosphere on Cu-faujasite catalysts

The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x (NO + NO₂) by NH₃ in O₂ rich atmosphere has been studied on Cu-FAU catalysts with Cu nominal exchange degree from 25 to 195%. NO₂ promotes the NO conversion at NO/NO₂ = 1 and low Cu content. This is in agreement with next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) Cu ions as the most active sites and with N_xO_y adsorbed species formed between NO and NO₂ as a key intermediate. Special attention was paid to the origin of N₂O formation. CuO aggregates form 40–50% of N₂O at ca. 550 K and become inactive for the SCR above 650 K. NNN Cu ions located within the sodalite cages are active for N₂O formation above 600 K. This formation is greatly enhanced when NO₂ is present in the feed, and originated from the interaction between NO (or NO₂) and NH₃. The introduction of selected co-cations, e.g. Ba, reduces very significantly this N₂O formation.     

NO–NH3 coadsorption on vanadia/titania catalysts: determination of the reduction degree of vanadium

Diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) has been used to study NH₃ and NO adsorption over a 15% w/w vanadia/titania catalyst. NH₃ is adsorbed as coordinate NH₃ and NH₄⁺ species over the oxidised catalyst, leading to the reduction of the vanadia surface. At 300°C, adsorbed nitrosyls species are detected, suggesting that the oxidation of gaseous or adsorbed ammonia species takes place over the V=O sites. Coadsorption experiments show that NO is able to reoxidise about the 57% of the reduced V=O groups, resulting in N₂, according to a NO+V_□→1/2N₂+V=O reaction. On the other hand, NO is only adsorbed over vanadia reduced surfaces. The measure of the area of the 2ν(V=O) bands results in an estimate of the oxidation state of vanadium. From this estimate it can be concluded that nitrosyls species are adsorbed on the catalyst surface for vanadium atoms having an oxidation state ranging from +4 to +3.1.     

Molecule sieving catalysts for NO reduction with hydrocarbons in exhaust of lean burn gasoline and diesel engines

NO oxidation catalysts with small pores and low hydrocarbon oxidation activity owing to molecular sieving were prepared by dispersing platinum in the pores of ferrierite and chabazite zeolites. These small pore platinum zeolite crystals were physically mixed with large pore silver mordenite zeolite crystals and evaluated as HC-SCR catalysts for selective catalytic reduction of NO in a synthetic gas mixture doped with octane or isooctane, mimicking exhaust from lean burning engines with unburned hydrocarbons. A synergetic effect on N₂ formation and hydrocarbon efficiency was obtained in these physical zeolite mixtures. In the pores of the small pore zeolite where the diffusion of NO, O₂ and NO₂ molecules with small kinetic diameters was rapid, NO was effectively oxidized by the platinum into NO₂, while the small window apertures suppressed the diffusion and reaction of the hydrocarbon. The silver plated large pore zeolite catalyzed the reaction between the NO₂ formed in the small pore zeolite and the hydrocarbon. The importance of molecular sieving was demonstrated in experiments with permutation of pore sizes and catalytic functions.     

重型柴油机主要含氮化合物的排放特性

采用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)技术,研究了加装选择性催化还原SCR装置的重型柴油机主要含氮化合物排放,重点探索了不同工况下主要含氮化合物NO、NO₂和N₂O的排放特性。结果表明:未加装SCR的原机,随负荷的增加,柴油机NO排放持续上升,NO₂排放先升后降,N₂O排放很少。加装SCR后该柴油机NO与NO₂排放均明显下降,标定转速下NO₂排放降幅较大,主要是其NO₂/NO值稍高导致快速SCR反应较多的原因。由于存在SCR副反应,与原机相比,柴油机N₂O排放比原机平均增加2倍以上,最大转矩转速下N₂O排放升幅更高。N₂O排放随负荷的增加而上升,主要是排温升高导致NH₃氧化生成N₂O反应速率增加的原因。加装SCR后,该机排气中的NO/NO_x值要明显低于原机状态,而外特性的NO₂/NO_x值和N₂O/NO_x值高达12.8%和20.7%,均远高于原机的3.0%和0.5%。     

Mechanistic differences in the selective reduction of NO by propene over cobalt- and silver-promoted alumina catalysts: kinetic and in situ DRIFTS study

The distribution of gaseous products and the nature of the surface species generated during the selective catalytic reduction of NO with C₃H₆ in the presence of excess O₂ (i.e. C₃H₆-SCR) were studied over both a 0.4% Co/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst and a sulphated 1.2% Ag/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst. The results were compared with those previously reported for the C₃H₆-SCR over 1.2% Ag/γ-Al₂O₃ and γ-Al₂O₃. High concentrations of NO₂ were observed in the product stream of the SCR reaction over the 0.4% Co/γ-Al₂O₃ and sulphated 1.2% Ag/γ-Al₂O₃ materials. The results show that (as in the case of the γ-Al₂O₃ and also probably that of the 1.2% Ag/γ-Al₂O₃) the NO₂ was formed via an alternative route to the direct oxidation of NO with O₂. The yields of NO₂ were higher over the Co/γ-Al₂O₃ than over the other materials and in contrast to the other materials, no NH₃ was produced over the Co/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst. Based on these results and those of in situ DRIFTS experiments, a global reaction scheme incorporating organo-nitrogen species as key intermediates is proposed. In this scheme, NO, propene and oxygen react to form organo-nitro and/or organo-nitrito adsorbed species, the reaction products of which combine to yield N₂. The results reported here suggest that Co preferentially promotes the formation of nitrito-compounds which can readily decompose to NO₂, whereas Ag preferentially promotes the formation of nitro-compounds (from reaction of strongly bound ad-NO_x species) which can decompose to isocyanates and ammonia. The sulphation of the 1.2% Ag/γ-Al₂O₃ reduced the surface concentration of strongly bound ad-NO_x species which were thought to react with the reductant or derived species to yield the organo-nitrogen species.     

Photocatalytic oxidation of nitrogen oxide over titania–zeolite composite catalyst to remove nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere

The photooxidation of NO with oxygen over Hycom TiO₂ and zeolite (A and Y form zeolite: TiO₂-AZ and TiO₂-YZ) composite catalysts was studied to remove NO_x in the atmosphere. The photocatalytic oxidation activity of the titania in the composite catalyst in a proportion of AZ:TiO₂=3:7 is about three times larger than that in the bare titania. The adsorption behaviors of NO and NO₂ for the bare titania sample obey Langmuir adsorption equations of NO and NO₂, respectively. In the titania–zeolite composite catalysts, the adsorption data indicate the increase in the amount of NO adsorption on the TiO₂ phase and the decrease in the amount of NO₂ adsorption, compared with the bare titania. The acceleration of NO photooxidation rate, resulting from the increase in the amount of NO adsorbed and the decrease in the amount of NO₂ adsorbed, thus occurs on the TiO₂ phase. IR spectra, when irradiating the catalysts with UV, showed the immediate formation of nitrate and NO₂ species on the catalyst. The results lead to the conclusion that the zeolites promote the photocatalytic oxidation of NO over the titania.     

High thermal conductive β-SiC for selective oxidation of H2S: A new support for exothermal reactions

This study aims at synthesizing a new by substituting 1 atom% Pd²⁺ in ionic state in TiO₂ in the form of Ti_0.99Pd_0.01O_1.99 with oxide-ion vacancy. The catalyst was synthesized by solution combustion method and was characterized by XRD and XPS. The catalytic activity was investigated by performing CO oxidation, hydrocarbon oxidation and NO reduction. A reaction mechanism for CO oxidation by O₂ and NO reduction by CO was proposed. The model based on CO adsorption on Pd²⁺ and dissociative chemisorption of O₂ in the oxide-ion vacancy for CO oxidation reaction fitted the experimental for CO oxidation. For NO reduction in presence of CO, the model based on competitive adsorption of NO and CO on Pd²⁺, NO chemisorption and dissociation on oxide-ion vacancy fitted the experimental data. The rate parameters obtained from the model indicated that the reactions were much faster over this catalyst compared to other catalysts reported in the literature. The selectivity of N₂, defined as the ratio of the formation of N₂ and formation of N₂ and N₂O, was very high compared to other catalysts and 100% selectivity was reached at temperature of 350 °C and above. As the N₂O + CO reaction is an intermediate reaction for NO + CO reaction, it was also studied as an isolated reaction and the rate of the isolated reaction was less than that of intermediate reaction.