Platinum adsorbed ammonia

The kinetics of the electrochemical oxidation of ammonia on platinum to dinitrogen in basic electrolytes has been extensively studied. In the widely supported mechanism originally suggested by Gerischer and Mauerer[ll], the active intermediate in the selective oxidation to N2 is a partly dehydrogenated ammonia adsorbate, NH2 ads or NHaatomic nitrogen adsorbate N ag, which is apparently formed at more positive potentials, is inactive toward N2 production at room temperature. Generally, only platinum and iridium electrodes exhibit steady-state N2 production at potentials at which no sur-... 

Metals and alloys, the principal industrial metalhc catalysts, are found in periodic group TII, which are transition elements with almost-completed 3d, 4d, and 5d electronic orbits. According to theory, electrons from adsorbed molecules can fill the vacancies in the incomplete shells and thus make a chemical bond. What happens subsequently depends on the operating conditions. Platinum, palladium, and nickel form both hydrides and oxides they are effective in hydrogenation (vegetable oils) and oxidation (ammonia or sulfur dioxide). Alloys do not always have catalytic properties intermediate between those of the component metals, since the surface condition may be different from the bulk and catalysis is a function of the surface condition. Addition of some rhenium to Pt/AlgO permits the use of lower temperatures and slows the deactivation rate. The mechanism of catalysis by alloys is still controversial in many instances. 

Reforming catalysts are typically platinum on a silica-alumina support. The catalysts are deactivated by feedstock contaminants such as organic nitrogen, sulfur, ammonia, and H2S. For this reason, the reformer charge is hydrotreated to remove these components. Also, any trace metal contaminants will be adsorbed onto the hydrotreating catalyst. 

Chromium triphenyl, (CgH Cr,1 is formed when chromium triphenyl iodide in liquid ammonia is electrolysed using a platinum cathode, or a solution of the iodide in liquid ammonia is treated with sodium in the same solvent. The product isolated by the former process often contains chemically combined or adsorbed ammonia. 

When H2S is chemisorbed on platinum or water adsorbed on silica, the S—H and 0—H stretching bands appear at positions close to those observed for H2S and H20 in the gaseous state. These results, together with those found for chemisorbed ammonia, indicate that the stretching vibrations of the single bonds to hydrogens are not markedly affected, by formation of coordinate bonds between a surface and the central atom of the molecule. 

Apart from poisoning by adsorbing impurities, the working electrode potential can also contribute to suppress electrocatalytic activity. Platinum metals, for instance, passivate or form surface oxygen and oxide layers above 1 V (Section IV,D), which inhibit Oj reduction (779,257,252) and oxidation of carbonaceous reactants (7, 78, 253, 254) however, decomposition of hydrogen peroxide on platinum is accelerated by oxygen layers (255). Some electrocatalysts may corrode or dissolve, especially in acidic electrolytes, while reactants may contribute to dissolution. Thus, ethylene oxidation on palladium to acetaldehyde proceeds via a Pd-ethylene complex, which releases colloidal palladium in solution (28, 29). Equivalent to this is the surface roughening and the loss of Pt in gas phase ammonia oxidation (256, 257). 

This result shows the retarding effect that a strongly adsorbed product can have on the rate. The decomposition of ammonia on a platinum wire has been found to follow this form of rate equation i.e., hydrogen is strongly adsorbed and ammonia is only weakly adsorbed, so that... 

Ammonia selectivity of platinum and platinum-nickel catalysts for NOx reduction varies with the nature of the supporting oxide. Silica, alumina, and silica-alumina supports on monolithic substrates were studied using synthetic automotive exhaust mixtures at 427°-593°C. The findings are explained by a mechanism whereby the reaction of nitric oxide with adsorbed ammonia is in competition with ammonia desorption. The ease of this desorption is affected by the chemistry of the support. Ammonia decomposition is not an important reaction on these catalysts when water vapor is present. 

The ammonia oxidation reaction proceeds in the first part of the catalyst bed [Fig. 16(a)]. This part is subsequently deactivated, mainly by nitrogen species. The high activity of the catalyst is maintained due to the movement of the reaction front to the next positions in the catalyst bed. When [ Nj-NH3 is injected at the moment that the reaction was already 20 seconds on-stream, labelled N species adsorb further on in the catalyst bed. Thus, in time to come, the deactivation front moves to the end of the catalyst bed. When this front reaches the end of the bed, the catalyst is covered with reaction species and the deactivation is observed in the concentration of the products. An experiment with half an amount of the catalyst also supports this reaction front movement. This experiment showed the formation and concentration of the products in the same manner, however, the catalyst remained active for half the time of the normally applied catalyst bed. Thus, below 413 K, the catalyst remains initially active because the reaction zone moves to the next bed positions, after the previous positions became fully covered with the adsorbed reaction species. Injection of a [ N]-NH3 or [ 0]-02 pulse after the initial deactivation, confirmed that the platinum surface is fully covered and that conversion of ammonia and oxygen is low. No significant amount of nitrogen or oxygen species remains adsorbed at the catalyst surface. 

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