Oxide surfaces catalytically active

Surface acidity and catalytic activity develop only after heat treatment of a coprecipitated mixture of amorphous silicon and aluminum oxides. Similar catalysts can be prepared by acid treatment of clay minerals, e.g., bentonite. The acidity is much stronger with silica-alumina than with either of the pure oxides. Maximum catalytic activity is usually observed after activation at 500-600°. At higher temperatures, the catalytic activity decreases again but can be restored by rehydration, as was shown by Holm et al. (347). The maximum of activity was repeatedly reported for compositions containing 20-40% of alumina. 

For example, the most noteworthy disadvantage of catalytic wet oxidation is the severe catalyst deactivation (Larachi el al., 1999). Hamoudi el al. (1998, 1999) systematically studied the deactivation of Mn02/Ce02 catalyst during wet catalytic oxidation of phenol and the catalyst-surface modifications. It was observed that deactivation was induced mainly by the formation of carbonaceous deposits on the catalyst surface. Ohta et al. (1980) reported that the size of the catalyst particles affected the stabilization of catalytic activity. For granular particles of supported copper oxide, the catalytic activity was decreased after each inn, even after six successive experiments. In contrast, for larger particles the catalytic activity was stabilized after the first three runs. 

Method c) is exemplified in the chiral modification of surfaces of zeolites with chiral compounds. Sundarababu et al. modified NaX and NaY zeolites with (-)-ephedrine and used them in the asymmetric photolysis of ketones with ee s above 10%. A strange behavior of the nature of carriers for the configuration of products in the latter reaction was observed the NaY-(-)-ephedrine zeolite system gave (+)-rotating products, while the NaX-(-)-ephedrine zeolite system gave (-)-rotating products. Zeolite H-Y modified with R)- or (5)-dithiane-l-oxide showed catalytic activity in the asymmetric decomposition of racemic 2-butanol (Hutchings)... 

Pd-doped catalysts have been produced by USS [82]. The fingerprint of Pd adopting the octahedral coordination of Fe in LaFeo,95Pdo,o503 has been observed in the XANES spectra of the material prepared by spray synthesis (27m /g) similarly to the preparation by the amorphous citrate method (14m /g) [17,82]. In contrast, the flame-made material of the same composition (22m /g) exposed metallic Pd particles on LaFeOs similarly to preparation by solution combustion. The different nature of the Pd species obtained by changing the synthesis method dramatically influences their catalytic performance, since PdO nanoparticles exposed at the surface of the mixed oxide exhibit catalytic activity, whereas Pd—O species in the bulk of the mixed oxide are inactive, at least in the case of methane oxidation [27]. In contrast to LaFeOs, LaMnOs did not allow Pd to adopt the octahedral coordination irrespective of synthesis method. Therefore, the coordination of Pd strongly depends on both the composition of the perovskite-type oxide and the synthesis method. 

In addition to platinum and related metals, the principal active component ia the multiflmctioaal systems is cerium oxide. Each catalytic coaverter coataias 50—100 g of finely divided ceria dispersed within the washcoat. Elucidatioa of the detailed behavior of cerium is difficult and compHcated by the presence of other additives, eg, lanthanum oxide, that perform related functions. Ceria acts as a stabilizer for the high surface area alumina, as a promoter of the water gas shift reaction, as an oxygen storage component, and as an enhancer of the NO reduction capability of rhodium. 

An effect which is frequently encountered in oxide catalysts is that of promoters on the activity. An example of this is the small addition of lidrium oxide, Li20 which promotes, or increases, the catalytic activity of dre alkaline earth oxide BaO. Although little is known about the exact role of lithium on the surface structure of BaO, it would seem plausible that this effect is due to the introduction of more oxygen vacancies on the surface. This effect is well known in the chemistry of solid oxides. For example, the addition of lithium oxide to nickel oxide, in which a solid solution is formed, causes an increase in the concentration of dre major point defect which is the Ni + ion. Since the valency of dre cation in dre alkaline earth oxides can only take the value two the incorporation of lithium oxide in solid solution can only lead to oxygen vacaircy formation. Schematic equations for the two processes are... 

Raman spectroscopy has provided information on catalytically active transition metal oxide species (e. g. V, Nb, Cr, Mo, W, and Re) present on the surface of different oxide supports (e.g. alumina, titania, zirconia, niobia, and silica). The structures of the surface metal oxide species were reflected in the terminal M=0 and bridging M-O-M vibrations. The location of the surface metal oxide species on the oxide supports was determined by monitoring the specific surface hydroxyls of the support that were being titrated. The surface coverage of the metal oxide species on the oxide supports could be quantitatively obtained, because at monolayer coverage all the reactive surface hydroxyls were titrated and additional metal oxide resulted in the formation of crystalline metal oxide particles. The nature of surface Lewis and Bronsted acid sites in supported metal oxide catalysts has been determined by adsorbing probe mole-... 

Moehida, I., Kawabuehi, Y., Kawano, S., Matsumura, Y. and Yoshikawa, M., High catalytic activity of pitch-based activated carbon fibres of moderate surface area for oxidation of NO to NOj at room temperature. Fuel, 1997, 76(6), 543 548. 

The catalytic properties of the shock-modified rutile whose defect properties have been reported in previous sections of this chapter have been studied in a flow reactor used to measure the oxidation of CO by Williams and coworkers [82G01, 86L01]. As shown in Fig. 7.7 the effect of shock activation is substantial. Whereas the unshocked material displays such low activity that an effect could only be observed at the elevated temperature of 400 °C, the shock-modified powder shows substantially enhanced catalytic activity with the extent of the effect depending on the shock pressure. After a short-time transient is annealed out, the activity is persistent for about 8 h. Although the source of the surface defects that cause the activity is not identified, the known annealing behavior of the point defects indicates that they are not responsible for the effect. 

There is little data available to quantify these factors. The loss of catalyst surface area with high temperatures is well-known (136). One hundred hours of dry heat at 900°C are usually sufficient to reduce alumina surface area from 120 to 40 m2/g. Platinum crystallites can grow from 30 A to 600 A in diameter, and metal surface area declines from 20 m2/g to 1 m2/g. Crystal growth and microstructure changes are thermodynamically favored (137). Alumina can react with copper oxide and nickel oxide to form aluminates, with great loss of surface area and catalytic activity. The loss of metals by carbonyl formation and the loss of ruthenium by oxide formation have been mentioned before. 

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