Catalytic reaction steps desorption

Adsorption, and chemisorption in particnlar, is closely allied to heterogeneons catalytic reactions both involve similar mass and heat transport constraints, in addition to bond formation at the solid snrface. In fact, adsorption is viewed as a precnrsor to catalytic reaction, and desorption is viewed as the step snbseqnent to the reaction itself. Adsorption of the reactant(s) and prodnct(s) must be strong enongh to deflect the original bonds, bnt not so strong as to poison the catalyst. This phenomenon has been related to the adsorption potential snggested by Polanyi (see Section 14.3.2). 

Overview In many industrial reactions, the overall rate of reaction is limited by the rate of mass transfer of reactants between the bulk fluid and the catalytic surface. By mas,s transfer, we mean any proces.s in which diffusion plays a role. In the rate laws and catalytic reaction steps described in Chapter 10 (diffusion, adsorption, surface reaction, desorption, and diffusion), we neglected the diffusion steps by saying we were operating under conditions where these steps are fast when compared to the other steps and thus could be neglected. We now examine the assumption that diffusion can be neglected. In this chapter we consider the external resistance to diffusion, and in the next chapter we consider internal resistance to diffusion. 

The chemical steps for catalytic reactions adsorption, desorption and surface reaction, are covered in Chapter 5, These processes occur at a fluid-solid interface and the rates scale directly with the total number of surface, sites, Cm.< Table 7T. lists. some. of the. i.mportan.t. c.om.rae.rciai... 

As with the other surface reactions discussed above, the steps m a catalytic reaction (neglecting diffiision) are as follows the adsorption of reactant molecules or atoms to fomi bound surface species, the reaction of these surface species with gas phase species or other surface species and subsequent product desorption. The global reaction rate is governed by the slowest of these elementary steps, called the rate-detemiming or rate-limiting step. In many cases, it has been found that either the adsorption or desorption steps are rate detemiining. It is not surprising, then, that the surface stmcture of the catalyst, which is a variable that can influence adsorption and desorption rates, can sometimes affect the overall conversion and selectivity. 

The catalytic reaction of NO and CO on single crystal substrates, under ultra-high vacuum conditions, has been extensively studied. Neglecting N2O formation and CO desorption, the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism of the NO + CO reaction can be described by the following sequence of steps [16,17] ... 

In the case of coupled heterogeneous catalytic reactions the form of the concentration curves of analytically determined gaseous or liquid components in the course of the reaction strongly depends on the relation between the rates of adsorption-desorption steps and the rates of surface chemical reactions. This is associated with the fact that even in the case of the simplest consecutive or parallel catalytic reaction the elementary steps (adsorption, surface reaction, and desorption) always constitute a system of both consecutive and parallel processes. If the slowest, i.e. ratedetermining steps, are surface reactions of adsorbed compounds, the concentration curves of the compounds in bulk phase will be qualitatively of the same form as the curves typical for noncatalytic consecutive (cf. Fig. 3b) or parallel reactions. However, anomalies in the course of bulk concentration curves may occur if the rate of one or more steps of adsorption-desorption character becomes comparable or even significantly lower then the rates of surface reactions, i.e. when surface and bulk concentration are not in equilibrium. 

The simplest case to be analyzed is the process in which the rate of one of the adsorption or desorption steps is so slow that it becomes itself rate determining in overall transformation. The composition of the reaction mixture in the course of the reaction is then not determined by kinetic, but by thermodynamic factors, i.e. by equilibria of the fast steps, surface chemical reactions, and the other adsorption and desorption processes. Concentration dependencies of several types of consecutive and parallel (branched) catalytic reactions 52, 53) were calculated, corresponding to schemes (Ila) and (lib), assuming that they are controlled by the rate of adsorption of either of the reactants A and X, desorption of any of the products B, C, and Y, or by simultaneous desorption of compounds B and C. 

The catalytic reaction can be subdivided into pore diffusion and chemisorption of reactants, chemical surface reaction, and desorption and pore diffusion of products, the number of steps depending upon the nature of the catalyst and the catalytic reaction. 

Irreversible Unimolecular Reactions. Consider the irreversible catalytic reaction A P of Example 10.1. There are three kinetic steps adsorption of A, the surface reaction, and desorption of P. All three of these steps must occur at exactly the same rate, but the relative magnitudes of the three rate constants, ka, and kd, determine the concentration of surface species. Suppose that ka is much smaller than the other two rate constants. Then the surface sites will be mostly unoccupied so that [S] Sq. Adsorption is the rate-controlling step. As soon as a molecule of A is absorbed it reacts to P, which is then quickly desorbed. If, on the other hand, the reaction step is slow, the entire surface wiU be saturated with A waiting to react, [ASJ Sq, and the surface reaction is rate-controlling. Finally, it may be that k is small. Then the surface will be saturated with P waiting to desorb, [PS] Sq, and desorption is rate-controlling. The corresponding forms for the overall rate are ... 

A catalytic reaction is composed of several reaction steps. Molecules have to adsorb to the catalyst and become activated, and product molecules have to desorb. The catalytic reaction is a reaction cycle of elementary reaction steps. The catalytic center is regenerated after reaction. This is the basis of the key molecular principle of catalysis the Sabatier principle. According to this principle, the rate of a catalytic reaction has a maximum when the rate of activation and the rate of product desorption balance. 

In drafting a catalytic cycle as in Eqs. (132)-(135) we naturally have to ensure that the reaction steps are thermodynamically and stoichiometrically consistent. For instance, the number of sites consumed in the adsorption and dissociation steps must be equal to the number of sites liberated in the formation and desorption steps, to fulfill the criterion that a catalyst is unaltered by the catalytic cycle. 

Unraveling catalytic mechanisms in terms of elementary reactions and determining the kinetic parameters of such steps is at the heart of understanding catalytic reactions at the molecular level. As explained in Chapters 1 and 2, catalysis is a cyclic event that consists of elementary reaction steps. Hence, to determine the kinetics of a catalytic reaction mechanism, we need the kinetic parameters of these individual reaction steps. Unfortunately, these are rarely available. Here we discuss how sticking coefficients, activation energies and pre-exponential factors can be determined for elementary steps as adsorption, desorption, dissociation and recombination. 

The mechanism of any catalytic reaction may be divided in a number of steps adsorption of at least one reactant, surface interactions between reactants, desorption of the products, etc. Each of these steps is associated with a modification of the enthalpy of the system. But the total energy released, or absorbed, during all successive steps of the actual reaction... 

Carbon monoxide oxidation is a relatively simple reaction, and generally its structurally insensitive nature makes it an ideal model of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Each of the important mechanistic steps of this reaction, such as reactant adsorption and desorption, surface reaction, and desorption of products, has been studied extensively using modem surface-science techniques.17 The structure insensitivity of this reaction is illustrated in Figure 10.4. Here, carbon dioxide turnover frequencies over Rh(l 11) and Rh(100) surfaces are compared with supported Rh catalysts.3 As with CO hydrogenation on nickel, it is readily apparent that, not only does the choice of surface plane matters, but also the size of the active species.18-21 Studies of this system also indicated that, under the reaction conditions of Figure 10.4, the rhodium surface was covered with CO. This means that the reaction is limited by the desorption of carbon monoxide and the adsorption of oxygen. 

The relative simplicity of CO oxidation makes this reaction an ideal model system of a heterogeneous catalytic reaction. Each of the mechanistic steps (adsorption and desorption of the reactants, surface reaction, and desorption of products) has been probed extensively with surface science techniques, as has the interaction between O2 and CO " . These studies have provided essential information necessary for understanding the elementary processes which occur in CO oxidation. 

Figure 7-8 Elementary steps that must occur in a catalytic reaction on a surface. All catalytic processes involve transport through a boundary layer, adsorption, surface diffusion, reaction, and desorption.

In all above mentioned applications, the surface properties of group IIIA elements based solids are of primary importance in governing the thermodynamics of the adsorption, reaction, and desorption steps, which represent the core of a catalytic process. The method often used to clarify the mechanism of catalytic action is to search for correlations between the catalyst activity and selectivity and some other properties of its surface as, for instance, surface composition and surface acidity and basicity [58-60]. Also, since contact catalysis involves the adsorption of at least one of the reactants as a step of the reaction mechanism, the correlation of quantities related to the reactant chemisorption with the catalytic activity is necessary. The magnitude of the bonds between reactants and catalysts is obviously a relevant parameter. It has been quantitatively confirmed that only a fraction of the surface sites is active during catalysis, the more reactive sites being inhibited by strongly adsorbed species and the less reactive sites not allowing the formation of active species [61]. 

The complex nature of heterogeneous catalytic reactions, which consist of a sequence of at least three steps (adsorption, surface reaction and desorption), the possible intervention of transport processes and the uncertainty about the actual state of the surface makes every attempt to obtain a complete formal kinetic description without simplifying assumptions futile. In this situation, some authors prefer fully empirical equations of the type... 

A heterogeneous catalytic reaction, by definition, necessitates the participation of at least one chemisorbed intermediate (54) and involves a sequence of interlinked and interdependent (55,56) steps, which include the adsorption of reactant(s), one or more surface rearrangements, and the desorption of product(s). More than one area of the solid may be active in promoting reaction the activity of such regions may vary from one crystallographic... 

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