Hydrocarbons, acidic properties

The nitro-hydrocarbons are neutral substances but when a nitro-group is introduced into a phenol or amine the acidic properties are greatly increased or the basicity decreased. The presence of a nitro-group also tends to make halogen atoms in the same molecule much more reactive. 

Two conqiletely different behaviors of oxidative transformation of methane, namely the Oxidative Coupling of Methane to C2 Hydrocarbons(OCM) and the Partial Oxidation of Methane to Syngas(POM), were performed and related over the nickel-based catalysts due to different modification and different supports. It is concluded that the acidic property favors keeping the reduced nickel and the reduced nickel is necessary for POM reaction, and the bade property frvors keeping the oxidized nickel and the oxidized mckel is necessary for OCM reaction. POM and OCM reactions proceed at different active sites caused by different... 

Industrial applications of zeolites cover a broad range of technological processes from oil upgrading, via petrochemical transformations up to synthesis of fine chemicals [1,2]. These processes clearly benefit from zeolite well-defined microporous structures providing a possibility of reaction control via shape selectivity [3,4] and acidity [5]. Catalytic reactions, namely transformations of aromatic hydrocarbons via alkylation, isomerization, disproportionation and transalkylation [2], are not only of industrial importance but can also be used to assess the structural features of zeolites [6] especially when combined with the investigation of their acidic properties [7]. A high diversity of zeolitic structures provides us with the opportunity to correlate the acidity, activity and selectivity of different structural types of zeolites. 

From Table 2 it can also be observed that the selectivity towards different hydrocarbon groups strongly depended on the acid properties of solids. Large amounts of C4 and C6 olefins were obtained for the mesoporous NiMCM-41 and NiMCM-48 catalysts with the lowest acid site concentration. In this case, a near Schulz-Flory-type product distribution (C4>C6>C8>Cio) was observed. The increase in acid site density (for the catalysts NiY, NiMCM-36, NiMCM-22) results in decrease of C 6/C8 ratio. These results are in agreement with the reaction network proposed in Scheme 1. 

The acid properties of hydrocarbons, deduced from deuterium exchange with liquid ammonia, will be discussed in detail in the following sections. 

The presence of nitro groups enhances the acidic properties of the phenol group. This is why the trinitro derivatives are also called acids, e.g. trinitrophenol is known as picric acid and trinitroresorcinol as styphnic acid. These compounds readily form salts with metals or bases. Polynitro derivatives of phenols also form addition compounds with hydrocarbons, e.g. naphthalene. 

Very striking results on the interactions of molecules with a catalyst have been recently reported in zeolite catalysis because of the well ordered structure of these materials it is worth mentioning the subjects of zeolite design [10] and of acidic properties of metallosilicates [11]. In other areas where polycrystallinic or even amorphous materials arc applied, highly interesting results are now numerously emerging (such as hydrocarbon oxidation on vanadium-based catalysts [12] location of transition metal cations on Si(100) [13] CO molecules on MgO surfaces [14] CH4 and O2 interaction with sodium- and zinc-doped CaO surfaces [15] CO and NO on heavy metal surfaces [16]). An illustration of the computerized visualization of molecular dynamics of Pd clusters on MgO(lOO) and on a three-dimensional trajectory of Ar in Na mordenitc, is the recent publication of Miura et al. [17]. 

C-H bonds in hydrocarbons have a very weak tendency to be ionized. Thus, alkanes, alkenes and alk5Ties show weak acid properties. Conjugate bases of hydrocarbons are called carbanions. 

Cyclopentadiene is surprisingly acidic (p/T ca. 16) for a hydrocarbon. This property arises because the cyclopentadienyl anion, generated by abstraction of a proton by a base such as sodium ethoxide (Scheme 1.3), has a delocalized aromatic set of six 7c-electrons. 

A number of methods are used for studying the sorption of basic probe molecules on zeolites to learn more about zeolite acidity. A common disadvantage of all the examinations is that adsorbed basic probe increases the electron density on the solid and, thereby, change the acidic properties of the sites examined. From this aspect it seems advantageous to probe the acid sites with a weak base, e. g., with a hydrocarbon. It was shown that adsorption of alkanes is localized to the strong Brdnsted acid sites of H-zeolites [1, 2]. However, recent results suggest that usually the diffusion in the micropores controls the rate of hydrocarbon transport [3-5]. Obviously, the probe suitable for the batch FR examination of the sites has to be non-reactive and the sorption dynamics must control the rate of mass transport. The present work shows that alkanes can not be used because, due to their weak interaction with the H-zeolites, the diffusion is the slowest step of their transport. In contrast, acetylene was found suitable to probe the zeolitic acid sites. The results are discussed in comparison with those obtained using ammonia as probe. Moreover, it is demonstrated that fundamental information can be obtained about the alkane diffusivity in H-zeolites... 

The compounds produced when the acid properties of the hydroxyl group are removed by introduction of an alcohol radical are colourless, for instance, nitroanisol behaves like a nitro-derivative of a hydrocarbon. 

Solid acid catalysts play an important role in hydrocarbon conversion reactions in the chemical and petroleum industries [1,2]. Many kinds of solid acids have been found their acidic properties on catalyst surfaces, their catalytic action, and the structure of acid sites have been elucidated for a long time, and those results have been reviewed by Arata [3]. The strong acidity of zirconia-supported sulfate has attracted much attention because of its ability to catalyze many reactions such as cracking, alkylation, and isomerization. Sulfated zirconia incorporating Fe and Mn has been shown to be highly active for butane isomerization, catalyzing the reaction even at room temperature [4]. 

ZSM-5 zeolite catalysts are well known for their shape selective and acidic properties, and low deactivation rates in efficient transformation of a number of hydrocarbon molecules[3-5]. Xylene isomerization. Toluene disproportionation. Methanol to gasoline and olefins, M-2 forming are some of the important ZSM-5 based processes[6-l 1]. These catalysts are also known to increase LPG range products when they are used as FCC additives. These considerations lead us to the development of ZSM-5 based catalysts such, that optimization of LPG or gasoline can be made by suitable choice of modifying procedure such as acid modification or metal modification[12-17j. 

HZSM-5 zeolite catalysts show high shape selectivity, because they have very fine micro pores within its crystallite [1], The pore diameter is almost equal to sizes of mono-aromatic molecules [2]. HZSM-5 catalysts are typical solid-acid catalysts, and their acid sites are distributed not only within but also on the outer surface of the crystallite [1,3]. Therefore, the shape selectivity of HZSM-5 zeolite is affected strongly by the size of the crystallite, the intracrystalline diffusivities of hydrocarbons and acidic properties within and on the outer surface of the crystallite [4-7],... 

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