Adsorption microcalorimetry

The measurement of the heat of adsorption by a suitable calorimeter is the most reliable method for evaluating the strength of adsorption (either physical or chemical). Tian-Calvet heat-flow microcalorimeters are an example of high sensitivity apparatus which are suitably adapted to the study of gas-solid interactions when connected to sensitive volumetric systems [10-14, 50-55]. Volumetric-calorimetric data reported in the following were measured by means of either a C-80 or MS standard heat-flow microcalorimeter (both by Setaram, F), connected to ahigh vacuum (residual pressure 

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Mesoporous materials (SBA-15 and Al-SBA-15 with various Si/Al ratios) were synthesized and investigated in relation to their capacity to be used as adsorbents for depollution of the contaminated air or wastewater. The compositional and the structural properties were determined by XRD, N2 isotherms, NMR, chemical analysis and XPS. The acidity and adsorption properties of the solids were checked by adsorption microcalorimetry using various basic or polluting molecules in gas phase. 

Auroux, A.,, Acidity and Basicity Determination by Adsorption Microcalorimetry, Mol... 

J.A. (1992) Applications of adsorption microcalorimetry to the study of heterogeneous catalysis. Adv. Catal.,... 

Surface Acid-Base Characterization of Containing Group IIIA Catalysts by Using Adsorption Microcalorimetry... 

Measurement of heat of adsorption by means of microcalorimetry has been used extensively in heterogeneous catalysis to gain more insight into the strength of gas-surface interactions and the catalytic properties of solid surfaces [61-65]. Microcalorimetry coupled with volumetry is undoubtedly the most reliable method, for two main reasons (i) the expected physical quantities (the heat evolved and the amount of adsorbed substance) are directly measured (ii) no hypotheses on the actual equilibrium of the system are needed. Moreover, besides the provided heat effects, adsorption microcalorimetry can contribute in the study of all phenomena, which can be involved in one catalyzed process (activation/deactivation of the catalyst, coke production, pore blocking, sintering, and adsorption of poisons in the feed gases) [66]. 

In the adsorption microcalorimetry technique, the sample is kept at a constant temperature, while a probe molecule adsorbs onto its surface, and a heat-flow detector emits a signal proportional to the amount of heat transferred per unit time. 

FIGURE 13.6 Types of generalized thermograms obtained in isothermal adsorption microcalorimetry. (From Solinas, V. and Ferino, 1., Catal. Today, 41, 179-89, 1998 and Andersen, P. J. and Kung, H. H., Catalysis, 11, 441-66, 1994. With permission.)... 

Adsorption calorimetry allows the total number of adsorption sites and potentially catalytically active centers to be estimated the values obtained depend on the nature and size of the probe molecule. Appropriate probe molecules to be selected for adsorption microcalorimetry should be stable over time and with temperature. The probe adsorbed on the catalyst surface should also have sufficient mobility to equilibrate with active sites at the given temperature [103]. 

Bulk boron oxide was found to be much more acidic than basic [168], When SO2 adsorption microcalorimetry was used, no basic sites were observed, but some phy-sisorption occurred. Ammonia and pyridine adsorption microcalorimetry were used to characterize the acidity of B2O3. Boron oxide displays an initial heat for NH3 adsorption of 80 kJ/mol and can adsorb irreversibly a large amount of ammonia. The number of active sites determined by pyridine adsorption and the corresponding integral heats were found to be much lower than those determined by using ammonia. 

The pretreatment temperature is an important factor that influences the acidic/ basic properties of solids. For Brpnsted sites, the differential heat is the difference between the enthalpy of dissociation of the acidic hydroxyl and the enthalpy of protonation of the probe molecule. For Lewis sites, the differential heat of adsorption represents the energy associated with the transfer of electron density toward an electron-deficient, coordinatively unsaturated site, and probably an energy term related to the relaxation of the strained surface [147,182]. Increasing the pretreatment temperature modifies the surface acidity of the solids. The influence of the pretreatment temperature, between 300 and 800°C, on the surface acidity of a transition alumina has been studied by ammonia adsorption microcalorimetry [62]. The number and strength of the strong sites, which should be mainly Lewis sites, have been found to increase when the temperature increases. This behavior can be explained by the fact that the Lewis sites are not completely free and that their electron pair attracting capacity can be partially modified by different OH group environments. The different pretreatment temperatures used affected the whole spectrum of adsorption heats... 

Another study examined the acidity and basicity of bulk Ga203 by NH3 and SO2 adsorptions microcalorimetry performed at 150°C. As alumina, Ga203 is amphoteric, with heats higher than 100 kJ/mol for both NH3 and SO2 adsorption, respectively [186]. The amphoteric character of bulk gallium oxides and strong heterogeneity of the surface acidic and basic sites were proved also by Petre et al. [179] using microcalorimetry of pyridine adsorption at 150°C and CO2 adsorption at 30°C. 

The AlGaPON samples were used as catalysts of the Knoevenagel condensation reaction and the authors [211] found that the -NH2 groups present at the surface of the samples were the basic sites responsible for the condensation properties of the catalysts. The catalytic performances of the studied samples increased with their basic character observed by SO2 adsorption microcalorimetry. 

The determination of acidity in FCCs from adsorption microcalorimetry of probe molecules was the object of a review article by Shen and Auroux [105], Adsorption microcalorimetry results obtained using anunonia as a probe molecule revealed that, as long as Lewis acid sites with strength greater than 100 kJ/mol are present and as long as these sites are available to gas oil, FCCs can retain their useful cracking activity and selectivity properties [221],... 

NHj adsorption microcalorimetry was used by Shannon et al. [225] to follow the changes in acid sites of a H Y zeolite during dehydroxylation, framework dealumina-tion, and the formation of nonframework aluminum species. 

The acid properties of nondealuminated and dealuminated commercial HY were also determined by Colon et al. [231] and Ferino et al. [58] using pyridine adsorption microcalorimetry at 150°C or by Biaglow et al. [165] and Chen et al. [232] using NHj adsorption microcalorimetry at 150°C. 

The effect of the Si/Al ratio of H-ZSM5 zeolite-based catalysts on surface acidity and on selectivity in the transformation of methanol into hydrocarbons has been studied using adsorption microcalorimetry of ammonia and tert-butylamine. The observed increase in light olefins selectivity and decrease in methanol conversion with increasing Si/Al ratio was explained by a decrease in total acidity [237]. 

The adsorption microcalorimetry has been also used to measure the heats of adsorption of ammonia and pyridine at 150°C on zeolites with variable offretite-erionite character [241]. The offretite sample (Si/Al = 3.9) exhibited only one population of sites with adsorption heats of NH3 near 155 kJ/mol. The presence of erionite domains in the crystals provoked the appearance of different acid site strengths and densities, as well as the presence of very strong acid sites attributed to the presence of extra-framework Al. In contrast, when the same adsorption experiments were repeated using pyridine, only crystals free from stacking faults, such as H-offretite, adsorbed this probe molecule. The presence of erionite domains in offretite drastically reduced pyridine adsorption. In crystals with erionite character, pyridine uptake could not be measured. Thus, it appears that chemisorption experiments with pyridine could serve as a diagnostic tool to quickly prove the existence of stacking faults in offretite-type crystals [241]. 

The acidic/basic properties of zeolites can be changed by introdnction of B, In, Ga elements into the crystal framework. For example, a coincorporation of alnminnm and boron in the zeolite lattice has revealed weak acidity for boron-associated sites [246] in boron-snbstitnted ZSM5 and ZSMll zeolites. Ammonia adsorption microcalorimetry gave initial heats of adsorption of abont 65 kJ/mol for H-B-ZSMll and showed that B-substituted pentasils have only very weak acidity [247]. Calcination at 800°C increased the heats of NH3 adsorption to about 170 kJ/mol by creation of strong Lewis acid sites as it can be seen in Figure 13.13. The lack of strong Brpnsted acid sites in H-B-ZSMll was confirmed by poor catalytic activity in methanol conversion and in toluene alkylation with methanol. 

Auroux et al. [251] used adsorption microcalorimetry of different alkanes to investigate Ga and Al substituted MFI zeolites used as catalysts in dehydrogenation and cracking reactions. 

In this chapter, a brief summary of studies that made use of calorimetry to characterize compounds comprising group IIIA elements (zeolites, nitrides, and oxides catalysts) was presented. It was demonstrated that adsorption microcalorimetry can be used as an efficient technique to characterize the acid-base strength of different types of materials and to provide information consistent with the catalytic data. 

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