Properties highly dispersed metal oxide catalyst

Properties, Synthesis and Applications of Highly Dispersed Metal Oxide Catalysts... 

I 7 6 Properties, Synthesis and Applications of Highly Dispersed Medal Oxide Catalysts 16.3.1.1 Hydrolysis and Condensation of Metal Alkoxides... 

In summary, the Raman studies have provided a deeper understanding of the molecular structure and reactivity properties of bulk metal oxide catalysts during selective oxidation reactions. However, the fundamental insights have primarily been limited to the bulk properties of the bulk metal oxide catalysts. In order to obtain surface information about metal oxide catalysts with Raman spectroscopy (essentially a bulk characterization technique), it is necessary to look at chemisorbed species on the surface of bulk metal oxides (see Sec. VIII) or highly dispersed metal oxide systems such as supported metal oxide catalysts. 

Catalysts were some of the first nanostructured materials applied in industry, and many of the most important catalysts used today are nanomaterials. These are usually dispersed on the surfaces of supports (carriers), which are often nearly inert platforms for the catalytically active structures. These structures include metal complexes as well as clusters, particles, or layers of metal, metal oxide, or metal sulfide. The solid supports usually incorporate nanopores and a large number of catalytic nanoparticles per unit volume on a high-area internal surface (typically hundreds of square meters per cubic centimeter). A benefit of the high dispersion of a catalyst is that it is used effectively, because a large part of it is at a surface and accessible to reactants. There are other potential benefits of high dispersion as well— nanostructured catalysts have properties different from those of the bulk material, possibly including unique catalytic activities and selectivities. 

The results that have been obtained with the catalysts after reduction and passivation are the same as those after calcination, i.e. the textural and structural properties of the support material have completely been retained after the treatments (as determined with nitrogen physisorption. X-ray diflfiaction and transmission electron microscopy). Information concerning the metallic nickel particles has been obtained with X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Diflractograms of the catalysts after passivation are shown in Fig. 8. The observed features are exactly the same as for the oxidic systems (Fig. 4) only very broad and low diffractions are visible for the catalyst ex citrate, whereas sharp, intense peaks with a broad onset are observed for the catalyst ex nitrate. Consequently the nickel particles of the catalyst ex citrate have resisted sintering during the reduction treatment, thereby conserving the high dispersion of the catalyst. These results were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy measurements (not shown) only very small nickel nanoparticles situated inside the mesopores were found for the catalyst ex citrate. 

Metal oxides belong to a class of widely used catalysts. They exhibit acidic or basic properties, which make them appropriate systems to be used as supports for highly dispersed metal catalysts or as precursors of a metal phase or sulfide, chloride, etc. Simple metal oxides range from essentially ionic compounds with the electropositive elements to covalent compounds with the nonmetals. However, taking into account the large variety of metal oxides, the principal objective of this book is to examine only metal oxides that are more attractive from the catalytic point of view, and most specifically transition metal oxides (TMO). In particular, TMO usually exhibit nonstoichiometry as a consequence of the presence of defective structures. The interaction of TMO with surfaces of the appropriate carriers develop monolayer structures of these oxides. The crystal and electronic structure, stoichiometry and composition, redox properties, acid-base character and cation valence sates are major ingredients of the chemistry investigated in the first part of the book. New approaches to the preparation of ordered TMO with extended structure of texturally well defined systems are also included. 

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