Cluster silica-supported

The effect of precursor-support interactions on the surface composition of supported bimetallic clusters has been studied. In contrast to Pt-Ru bimetallic clusters, silica-supported Ru-Rh and Ru-Ir bimetallic clusters showed no surface enrichment in either metal. Metal particle nucleation in the case of the Pt-Ru bimetallic clusters is suggested to occtir by a mechanism in which the relatively mobile Pt phase is deposited atop a Ru core during reduction. On the other hand, Ru and Rh, which exhibit rather similar precursor support interactions, have similar surface mobilities and do not, therefore, nucleate preferentially in a cherry model configuration. The existence of true bimetallic clusters having mixed metal surface sites is verified using the formation of methane as a catalytic probe. An ensemble requirement of four adjacent Ru surface sites is suggested. 

The EXAFS results suggested that the iridium-rhodium clusters dispersed on alumina differed in size and/or shape from those dispersed on silica, based on the result that the total coordination nunbers of the iridium and rhodium atoms in the clusters were very different (7 and 5 in the alumina supported clusters vs. 11 and 10 in the silica supported clusters). These coordination numbers suggested that the clusters dispersed on alumina were smaller or that they were present in the form of thin rafts or patches on the support. The possibility of a "raft-like" structure in the case of the alumina supported clusters suggests an interaction between the metal clusters and the support which is much more pronounced for alumina than for silica. If the clusters on the alumina were present as rafts with a thickness of one atomic layer, one could have a situation in which the rhodium concentration at the perimeter of the raft was greater... 

The role played by the support of influencing the surface composition of supported bimetallic clusters has only recently begun to receive some attention. Miura, a ( ) have shown that the nature of the support can play an important role in determining not only the surface composition of the supported bimetallic clusters but also the morphology of the particles. For silica-supported Pt-Ru... 

In order to verify the presence of bimetallic particles having mixed metal surface sites (i.e., true bimetallic clusters), the methanation reaction was used as a surface probe. Because Ru is an excellent methanation catalyst in comparison to Pt, Ir or Rh, the incorporation of mixed metal surface sites into the structure of a supported Ru catalyst should have the effect of drastically reducing the methanation activity. This observation has been attributed to an ensemble effect and has been previously reported for a series of silica-supported Pt-Ru bimetallic clusters ( ). 

Metal dispersions were observed to decrease as the concentration of Ru was Increased. This same trend was observed for the Ru-Rh catalysts and was in marked contrast to observations on silica-supported Ft-Ru catalysts W. In this case a large Increase in dispersion was obtained as a result of bimetallic clustering in the cherry model configuration. 

The surface-catalyst composition data for the silica-supported Ru-Rh cuid Ru-Ir catalyst are shown in Figure 1. A similcir plot for the series of silica-supported Pt-Ru bimetallic catalysts taken from ref. P) is included for comparison purposes. Enthalpies of sublimation for Pt, Ru, Rh and Ir are 552, 627, 543, and 648 KJ/mole. Differences in enthalpies of sublimation (a<75 KJ/mole) between Pt and Ru cind between Rh and Ru are virtually identical, with Pt euid Rh having the lower enthalpies of sublimation. For this reason surface enrichment in Pt for the case of the Pt-Ru/Si02 bimetallic clusters cannot be attributed solely to the lower heat of sublimation of Pt. Other possibilities must also be considered. 

Figure I. Oxygen uptake by supported clusters and vanadium oxide. Samples were pre-reduced and re-oxidized at the temperatures indicated on the abscissa. Silica-supported polyoxometalates PVl ( ), PV3 (A), PVI4 ( ). Bulk V2O5 (+, after [10])...

Thermal reduction at 623 K by means of CO is a common method of producing reduced and catalytically active chromium centers. In this case the induction period in the successive ethylene polymerization is replaced by a very short delay consistent with initial adsorption of ethylene on reduce chromium centers and formation of active precursors. In the CO-reduced catalyst, CO2 in the gas phase is the only product and chromium is found to have an average oxidation number just above 2 [4,7,44,65,66], comprised of mainly Cr(II) and very small amount of Cr(III) species (presumably as Q -Cr203 [66]). Fubini et al. [47] reported that reduction in CO at 623 K of a diluted Cr(VI)/Si02 sample (1 wt. % Cr) yields 98% of the silica-supported chromium in the +2 oxidation state, as determined from oxygen uptake measurements. The remaining 2 wt. % of the metal was proposed to be clustered in a-chromia-like particles. As the oxidation product (CO2) is not adsorbed on the surface and CO is fully desorbed from Cr(II) at 623 K (reduction temperature), the resulting catalyst acquires a model character in fact, the siliceous part of the surface is the same of pure silica treated at the same temperature and the anchored chromium is all in the divalent state. 

Figure 3. Example of XRPD on small Au clusters supported on silica. Total diffraction intensity has been measured with area detector (IP) on BM08-GILDA beamline at the ESRF with A = 0.6211 A and 2min exposure time. Diffraction patterns were collected on Au-supported sample (Exp) and on silica support (Support). Difference patterns, corrected for fluorescence, IP efficiency, etc., are shown (n-Au).

Recently, it has been reported that a novel calcination procedure relying on nitric oxide gas in lieu of air also results in smaller cobalt crystallites over silica supports.15 17 The idea is to use a less oxidative gas to prevent rapid decomposition of the nitrate precursor during thermal nitrate decomposition, which has been observed when 02 is present.17 As a result, the mobility of the precursor on the oxide carrier surface is hindered, resulting in a smaller average Co oxide cluster... 

Scheme 8.2 Mechanism for the hydrogenation of ethylene catalyzed by silica-supported osmium clusters (CO ligands omitted for clarity).

Scheme 1.4 Catalysis with a silica supported grafted osmium cluster (while keeping the molecular cluster intact).

Alumina-supported catalysts prepared using the bimetallic carbonyl precursors showed a better performance in alkene hydroformylation than conventional Co-Rh catalysts. This was related to the presence of highly dispersed Rh-Co clusters with frames corresponding to that of the parent carbonyl-precursor that were characterized by EXAFS [140, 183]. Silica-supported bimetallic entities RhCo3,... 

Silica-supported Rh-Fe catalysts prepared by impregnation and decarbonylation at 400 °C under H2 of bimetallic carbonyls with cluster frames FeRhs, FeRlq, Fe2Rh4 or Fe3Rh2 have been reported [192, 193]. 

On sihca added with an excess of K2CO3, such as in strongly basic solution [58] or on the MgO surface [111], the initially formed silica-supported [Ir4(CO)i2] gives sequentially [Ir8(CO)22] and [Ir6(CO)i5] Y By analogy with the Ir chemistry occurring in basic solution [58] or on the MgO surface [111], the first anionic Ir cluster formed on the silica surface with added alkah carbonates is probably [HIr4(CO)ijY... 

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