Solid oxidation catalysts, surface

Some Techniques for Studying the Surface of Solid Oxidation Catalysts... 

A considerable spectrum of techniques also exists for studying the surfaces of solid oxidation catalysts. Several of these are discussed below. No attempt has been made here to be comprehensive. For example, the powerful tool of optical absorption spectroscopy (particularly infrared) is now so well-known and widely used that there is no need here to emphasize its importance. 

Alloys Borates Solid-state Chemistry Carbides Transition Metal Solid-state Chemistry Chalcogenides Solid-state Chemistry Diffraction Methods in Inorganic Chemistry Electronic Structure of Solids Fluorides Solid-state Chemistry Halides Solid-state Chemistry Intercalation Chemistry Ionic Conductors Magnetic Oxides Magnetism of Extended Arrays in Inorganic Solids Nitrides Transition Metal Solid-state Chemistry Noncrystalline Solids Oxide Catalysts in Solid-state Chemistry Oxides Solid-state Chemistry Quasicrystals Semiconductor Interfaces Solids Characterization by Powder Diffraction Solids Computer Modeling Superconductivity Surfaces. 

The second major aspect of the surface chemistry of chromia-alumina that has to be considered is the acidic nature of its surface. The exact chemical nature of the acid sites of solid oxide catalysts such as alumina or silica-alumina has been a subject of considerable research and speculation for a number of years, yet despite these efforts a fully satisfactory chemical description of catalyst acidity has not been obtained. Nevertheless, in the case of chromia-alumina, there is good evidence for the existence of acid sites of one kind or another on the surface. Voltz and Weller (29), for example, studied the chemisorption of quinoline on chromia-alumina, with and without potassium promotion, and at the same time measured their titrable acidities in aqueous suspensions. Both methods indicated that chromia-alumina was acidic, and that the addition of potassium decreased the acidity. This observation was supported by the fact that the double bond isomerization of 1-pentene, normally an acid-catalyzed reaction, proceeded quite readily over pure chromia-alumina, but less readily over a chromia-alumina treated with potassium. 

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... 

In view of the above physical meaning of A it is clear why A can approach infinite values when Na+ is used as the sacrificial promoter (e.g. when using j "-Al203 as the solid electrolyte) to promote reactions such as CO oxidation (Fig. 4.15) or NO reduction by H2 (Fig. 4.17). In this case Na on the catalyst surface is not consumed by a catalytic reaction and the only way it can be lost from the surface is via evaporation. Evaporation is very slow below 400°C (see Chapter 9) so A can approach infinite values. 

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) studies of Ag63,64 and Pt6,56-62 films deposited on YSZ under positive current application conditions have confirmed the proposition2-4 that NEMCA with oxide ion conducting solid electrolytes is due to an electrochemically induced and controlled backspillover of oxide ions on the catalyst surface. 

In the case of selective oxidation catalysis, the use of spectroscopy has provided critical Information about surface and solid state mechanisms. As Is well known( ), some of the most effective catalysts for selective oxidation of olefins are those based on bismuth molybdates. The Industrial significance of these catalysts stems from their unique ability to oxidize propylene and ammonia to acrylonitrile at high selectivity. Several key features of the surface mechanism of this catalytic process have recently been descrlbed(3-A). However, an understanding of the solid state transformations which occur on the catalyst surface or within the catalyst bulk under reaction conditions can only be deduced Indirectly by traditional probe molecule approaches. Direct Insights Into catalyst dynamics require the use of techniques which can probe the solid directly, preferably under reaction conditions. We have, therefore, examined several catalytlcally Important surface and solid state processes of bismuth molybdate based catalysts using multiple spectroscopic techniques Including Raman and Infrared spectroscopies, x-ray and neutron diffraction, and photoelectron spectroscopy. 

A wide variety of solid materials are used in catalytic processes. Generally, the (surface) structure of metal and supported metal catalysts is relatively simple. For that reason, we will first focus on metal catalysts. Supported metal catalysts are produced in many forms. Often, their preparation involves impregnation or ion exchange, followed by calcination and reduction. Depending on the conditions quite different catalyst systems are produced. When crystalline sizes are not very small, typically > 5 nm, the metal crystals behave like bulk crystals with similar crystal faces. However, in catalysis smaller particles are often used. They are referred to as crystallites , aggregates , or clusters . When the dimensions are not known we will refer to them as particles . In principle, the structure of oxidic catalysts is more complex than that of metal catalysts. The surface often contains different types of active sites a combination of acid and basic sites on one catalyst is quite common. 

With certain types of catalysts it is easy to postulate that more than one type of chemisorption site may exist on the solid surface. For example, in the case of metal oxide catalysts, one might speculate that certain species could chemisorb by interaction with metal atoms at the surface, while other species could interact with surface oxygpn atoms. Consider the possibility that species A adsorbed on one type of site will react with species B adsorbed on a second type of site according to the following reaction. 

According to detailed XRD analyses, the two catalyst preparation procedures under study formed solid solutions. The application of sol-gel method led to improved selectivity to olefins in the reaction of propane ODH, compared to the simple procedure of evaporation and decomposition. However, the propane conversion on the sol-gel catalysts was lower at the same experimental conditions, while the catalysts surface area was higher. Moreover, the sol-gel samples presented higher basicity as shown by C02 TPD. It could be explained by a better incorporation of Nd into the AEO lattice, creating cationic vacancies for attaining electroneutrality and thus rendering the nearby oxide anions coordinatively unsaturated and more basic. 

MgO is a basic metal oxide and has the same crystal structure as NiO. As a result, the combination of MgO and NiO results in a solid-solution catalyst with a basic surface (171,172), and both characteristics are helpful in inhibiting carbon deposition (171,172,239). The basic surface increases C02 adsorption, which reduces or inhibits carbon-deposition (Section ALB). The NiO-MgO solid solution can control the nickel particle sizes in the catalyst. This control occurs because in the solid solution NiO has strong interactions with MgO and, as indicated by TPR data (26), the former oxide can no longer be easily reduced. Consequently, only a small amount of NiO is expected to be reduced, and thus small nickel particles are formed on the surface of the solid solution, smaller than the size necessary for coke formation. Indeed, the nickel particles on a reduced 16.7 wt% NiO/MgO solid-solution catalyst were too small to be observed by TEM (171). Furthermore, two additional important qualities stimulated the selection of MgO as a support its high thermal stability and low cost (250,251). 

The multi-functionality of metal oxides1,13 is one of the key aspects which allow realizing selectively on metal oxide catalysts complex multi-step transformations, such as w-butane or n-pentane selective oxidation.14,15 This multi-functionality of metal oxides is also the key aspect to implement a new sustainable industrial chemical production.16 The challenge to realize complex multi-step reactions over solid catalysts and ideally achieve 100% selectivity requires an understanding of the surface micro-kinetic and the relationship with the multi-functionality of the catalytic surface.17 However, the control of the catalyst multi-functionality requires the ability also to control their nano-architecture, e.g. the spatial arrangement of the active sites around the first centre of chemisorption of the incoming molecule.1... 

---