Structural Characteristics of the Raney Nickel Promoted by a Platinum-Ruthenium Mixture and Its Electrocatalytic Activity in the Methanol Oxidation Reaction in Alkaline Media

Structural characteristics and electrocatalytic activity in the methanol oxidation reaction in an alkaline solution of the Raney nickel promoted by a platinum-ruthenium mixture are studied with the aid of methods of scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction microanalysis, BET, and measurements of cyclic voltamograms and polarization curves. Distributions of all components of the system under investigation (Al, Ni, Pt, Ru, O) at the surface of the catalyst, the average size of whose particles amounts to 20–30 μm, are established. It is shown that a number of parameters (composition and quantity of the promoting mixture, temperature and concentration of methanol and alkali, amount of the active mass of the electrode) exert an influence on the methanol oxidation rate. The catalyst on the basis of the Raney nickel promoted by 10 wt % Pt/Ru (1/9 at. %) exhibits maximum activity in the methanol electrooxidation reaction in a solution that contains 4 M CH₃OH in 6 M KOH. Upon elevating temperature by 20°C in the temperature interval 40 to 80°C the reaction accelerates by 2–3 times. __________ Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 12, 2005, pp. 1422–1430. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2005 by Karichev, Tarasevich, Efremov, Bogdanovskaya, Kapustin.     

Electrocatalysts and membrane for direct ethanol-oxygen fuel cell with alkaline electrolyte

Results of studies of anodic (RuNi/C) and cathodic (PtCo/C; CoN₄/C) catalysts, polybenzimidazole membrane, and membrane-electrode assemblies on their basis for alkaline ethanol-oxygen fuel cell are presented. It is shown that the anodic catalyst RuNi/C optimized in its composition (Ru: Ni = 68: 32 in atomic percent) and the metal mass on carbonaceous support (15–20%) is sufficiently effective with respect to ethanol oxidation; it is well superior to commercial Pt/C- and RuPt/C-catalysts when calculated per unit mass of the precious metal. The effect of electrolyte composition, electrode potential, and temperature on the CO₂ yield is studied by chromatographic analysis of the ethanol oxidation products. It is shown that the highest CO₂ yield (the process involves the C-C bond break) is achieved at low electrolysis overvoltage and elevated temperature. The mean number of electrons given up by C₂H₅OH molecule approaches 10 at temperatures over 60°C. The studied cathodic catalysts form the following series of their specific activity in the oxygen reduction reaction: (20 wt % Pt) E-TEK ≥ (7.3 wt % Pt) PtCo/C > CoN₄/C; however, in the presence of alcohol the activity series is reversed. On this reason fuel cell cathodes were prepared by using synthesized CoN₄/C-catalyst. For the alkali-doped polybenzimidazole membrane the conductivity and ethanol crossover were determined. A membrane-electrode assembly for platinum-free alkaline ethanol-oxygen fuel cell is designed. It comprised anodic (RuNi/C) and cathodic (CoN₄/C) catalysts and polybenzimidazole membrane. The period of service of the fuel cell exceeded 100 h at a voltage of 0.5 V and current of 100 mA/cm².     

Nanostructured PtRu/C as anode catalysts prepared in a pseudomicroemulsion with ionic surfactant for direct methanol fuel cell

Nanostructured PtRu/C catalysts have been prepared from a water-in-oil pseudomicroemulsion with the aqueous phase of a mixed concentrated solution of H(2)PtCl(6), RuCl(3), and carbon powder, oil phase of cyclohexane, ionic surfactant of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (C(18)H(29)NaO(3)S), and cosurfactant n-butanol (C(4)H(10)O). Two different composing PtRu/C nanocatalysts (catalyst 1, Pt 20 wt %, Ru 15 wt %; catalyst 2, Pt 20 wt %, Ru 10 wt %) were synthesized. The catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis, and the particles were found to be nanosized (2-4 nm) and inherit the Pt face-centered cubic structure with Pt and Ru mainly in the zero valance oxidation state. The ruthenium oxide and hydrous ruthenium oxide (RuO(x)()H(y)()) were also found in these catalysts. The cyclic voltammograms (CVs) and chronoamperometries for methanol oxidation on these catalysts showed that catalyst 1 with a higher Ru content (15 wt %) has a higher and more durable electrocatalytic activity to methanol oxidation than catalyst 2 with low Ru content (10 wt %). The CV results for catalysts 1 and 2 strongly support the bifunctional mechanism of PtRu/C catalysts for methanol oxidation. The data from direct methanol single cells using these two PtRu/C as anode catalysts show the cell with catalyst 1 has higher open circuit voltage (OCV = 0.75 V) and maximal power density (78 mW/cm(2)) than that with catalyst 2 (OCV = 0.70 V, P(max) = 56 mW/cm(2)) at 80 degrees C.     

Structure Sensitivity in the Hydrodechlorination of Chlorophenols

The gas phase hydrodechlorination of methanolic and mixed methanol/water solutions of 2-chlorophenol, 2,6-dichlorophenol, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol and pentachlorophenol has been studied at 573 K over nickel/silica catalysts of varying (1.5–20.3 wt.% Ni) nickel loading. Each catalyst was 100% selective in promoting hydrodechlorination: the variation of catalytic activity and selectivity with time-on-stream is illustrated and catalyst deactivation is addressed. Dechlorination is quantified in terms of specific rate constants, phenol selectivity/yield and chlorine removal efficiencies. Increasing the nickel loading resulted in a marked increase in dechlorination efficiency while the introduction of water into the feed lowered the activity.     

Direct borohydride oxidation electrocatalysts based on Ni-Ru/C and Ni-Ru-F/C alloys

A fluorine-containing bimetallic nickel-ruthenium catalyst on highly disperse carbon black is synthesized based on an organometal nickel complex and a ruthenium cluster in the presence of perfluoroenanthic acid. The resulting catalyst is characterized by the XRD and energy-dispersion analyses and laser mass spectrometry. The overall composition of the catalytic system corresponds to Ni₁₂RuF₅. Calculated on the base of XRD data, the particle size is 10.5–12 nm. According to voltammetric data, the specific characteristics of the synthesized catalyst in the reaction of direct oxidation of sodium borohydride at room temperature surpass the characteristics of nickel-ruthenium catalyst described in the literature.     

Pt-Ru supported on double-walled carbon nanotubes as high-performance anode catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells

Pt-Ru supported on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (single-walled nanotubes, double-walled nanotubes (DWNTs), and multi-walled nanotubes) catalysts are prepared by an ethylene glycol reduction method. Pt-Ru nanoparticles with a diameter of 2-3 nm and narrow particle size distributions are uniformly deposited onto the CNTs. A simple and fast filtration method followed by a hot-press film transfer is employed to prepare the anode catalyst layer on a Nafion membrane. The Pt-Ru/DWNTs catalyst shows the highest specific activity for methanol oxidation reaction in rotating disk electrode experiments and the highest performance as an anode catalyst in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) single cell tests. The DMFC single cell with Pt-Ru/DWNTs (50 wt %, 0.34 mg Pt-Ru/cm(2)) produces a 68% enhancement of power density, and at the same time, an 83% reduction of Pt-Ru electrode loading when compared to Pt-Ru/C (40 wt %, 2.0 mg Pt-Ru/cm(2)).     

Catalyst activity comparison of alcohols over zeolites

Alcohol transformation to transportation fuel-range hydrocarbon over HZSM-5 (SiO₂/Al₂O₃ = 30) catalyst was studied at 360 °C and 300 psig. Product distributions and catalyst life were compared between methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol and 1-butanol as a feed. The catalyst life for 1-propanol and 1-butanol was more than double compared with that for methanol and ethanol. For all the alcohols studied, the product distributions (classified to paraffin, olefin, naphthene, aromatic and naphthalene compounds) varied with time on stream (TOS). At 24 h TOS, liquid product from 1-propanol and 1-butanol transformation primarily contains higher olefin compounds. The alcohol transformation process to higher hydrocarbon involves a complex set of reaction pathways such as dehydration, oligomerization, dehydrocyclization and hydrogenation. Compared with ethylene generated from methanol and ethanol, oligomerization of propylene and butylene has a lower activation energy and can readily take place on weaker acidic sites. On the other hand, dehydrocyclization of the oligomerized products of propylene and butylene to form the cyclic compounds requires the sites with stronger acid strength. Combination of the above mentioned reasons are the primary reasons for olefin rich product generated in the later stage of the time on stream and for the extended catalyst life time for 1-propanol and 1-butanol compared with methanol and ethanol conversion over HZSM-5.     

Esterification of caprylic acid with alcohol over nano-crystalline sulfated zirconia

The catalytic activity of nano-crystalline sulfated zirconia catalyst, prepared by sol–gel method and characterized by various analytical tools, was evaluated for the esterification of caprylic acid with different short chain alcohols. The lower concentration of catalyst (0.5 wt%) exhibited 96–98% conversion of caprylic acid with methanol and 100% selectivity for methyl caprylate at 60 °C. The conversion was decreased with increasing carbon chain of alcohols namely with ethanol, n-propanol and n-butanol at 60 °C but increased significantly (91–98%) at higher reaction temperature. The selectivity for respective alkyl caprylate was observed to be 100% irrespective of the alcohol used. The activity of the catalyst was slightly decreased with successive five reaction cycles due to the water formed during the reaction.     

Dehydrogenation of isopropanol on a cerium-nickel catalyst

The effect of a cerium additive on the catalytic activity of a 2 wt % Ni/SiO₂ catalyst is studied. It found that under both flow and static conditions the activity of (2 wt % Ni + 0.2 wt % Ce)/SiO₂ catalyst is higher than that of the original sample; the increase in activity results from a sharp increase in the number of active sites. A change in the composition of the surface layer of the catalysts is analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was found that the fraction of nickel decreases and the fraction of carbon increases in cerium-containing catalyst. An explanation of the change in the elemental composition of the catalytic active sites of a nickel catalyst in the presence of cerium is proposed on the basis of XPS data and previous quantum chemical calculations.     

Excess of nio loading - key for catalyst activity decline prevention

Summary The activity of co-precipitated NiO-Al₂O₃ catalyst for partial oxidation of methane in a steel flow reactor was investigated. The catalyst samples loaded with 5, 10 and 20 wt.% nickel before use were thermally treated at 400, 700 and 1100^oC. The feed gas for catalytic oxidation was prepared by dilution of natural gas with air, and had approximately the following volume composition: CH₄: O₂: N₂ = 5: 2: 8. The reaction was carried out over 100 mg unreduced NiO-Al₂O₃ catalyst at gas flow rate of 50 cm³/min at 650^oC and atmospheric pressure. The catalyst activity with 5 and 10 wt.% of nickel was very similar, decreasing with enhance of previous heat treatment. Further nickel loading did not increase significantly the catalyst activity compared to low level nickel samples. However, high nickel content has a levelling effect on catalyst activity, suppressing the undesired effect of previous heat treatment at high temperature     

Efficient Disproportionation of Formic Acid to Methanol Using Molecular Ruthenium Catalysts

The disproportionation of formic acid to methanol was unveiled in 2013 using iridium catalysts. Although attractive, this transformation suffers from very low yields; methanol was produced in less than 2 % yield, because the competitive dehydrogenation of formic acid (to CO₂ and H₂) is favored. We report herein the efficient and selective conversion of HCOOH to methanol in 50 % yield, utilizing ruthenium(II) phosphine complexes under mild conditions. Experimental and theoretical (DFT) results show that different convergent pathways are involved in the production of methanol, depending on the nature of the catalyst. Reaction intermediates have been isolated and fully characterized and the reaction chemistry of the resulting ruthenium complexes has been studied.     

Katalysierte Nitrilreduktionen mit Natriumborhydrid

The reduction of benzonitrile with sodium borohydride in aqueous methanol in the presence of Raney nickel as a catalyst provides high yields of benzylamine as compared with the known low yields in the absence of Raney nickel. An explanation is proposed. Butyronitrile gives similar good yields of n-butylamine.     

New process of low-temperature methanol synthesis from CO/CO2/H2 based on dual-catalysis

A new process of low-temperature methanol synthesis from CO/CO₂/H₂ based on dual-catalysis has been developed. Some alcohols, especially 2-alcohol, were found to have high catalytic promoting effect on the synthesis of methanol from CO hydrogenation. At 443 K and 5 MPa, the synthesis of methanol could process high effectively, resulting from the synergic catalysis of Cu/ZnO solid catalyst and 2-alcohol solvent catalyst. The primary results showed that when 2-butanol was used as reaction solvent, the one-pass average yield and the selectivity of methanol, in 40 h continuous reaction at temperature as low as 443 K and 5 MPa, were high up to 46.51% and 98.94% respectively. The catalytic activity was stable and the reaction temperature was 80 K or so lower than that in current industry synthesis process. This new process hopefully will become a practical method for methanol synthesis at low temperature.     

Production of methyl ester fuel from microalgae

Microalgae are unique photosynthetic organisms that are known to accumulate storage lipids in large quantitites and thrive in saline waters. Before these storage lipids can be used, they must be extracted from the microalgae and converted into usable fuel. Transesterification of lipids produces fatty acid methyl esters that can be used as a diesel fuel substitute. Three solvents, 1-butanol, ethanol, and hexane/2-propanol, were evaluated for extraction efficiency of microalgal lipids. Type of catalyst, concentration of catalyst, time of reaction, temperature of reaction, and quality of lipid were examined as variables for transesterification. The most efficient solvent of the three for extraction was 1-butanol (90% efficiency), followed by hexane/2-propanol and ethanol. Optimal yield of fatty acid methyl esters was obtained using 0.6N hydrochloric acid in methanol for 0.1 h at 70°C.     

Properties of anodic RuNiO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>(OH)<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">y</Emphasis></Subscript> catalysts synthesized on carbon supports with various dispersion degree

A number of catalysts of the (Ru-Ni)/C system is synthesized and studied for application in anodes of alkaline ethanol-air fuel cells. The carbon supports used are carbon blacks with different specific surface area and graphite powders. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy technique allowed detecting on the catalyst surface metallic ruthenium and nickel in the form of Ni(OH)2 hydroxide and possibly oxyhydroxide NiOOH. It is shown that the catalyst activity in the reaction of ethanol electrochemical oxidation grows at an increase in the specific surface area of the carbon support. The method of carbon monoxide oxidative desorption was used to determine the values of the specific surface area of the catalyst metallic phase. It is shown that at an increase in the relative ruthenium content from (1Ru3Ni)/C to Ru/C, the specific catalytic activity in the catalysts of the (Ru-Ni)/C system reaches the maximum value near the composition of (2Ru1Ni)/C. It is shown that the found optimum catalyst composition is independent of the carbon support dispersion degree. Activity in ethanol electrooxidation of the (2Ru1Ni)/C catalyst supported on the Ketjenblack EC-600 carbon black is 18 ± 3 A/g of the catalyst (>120 A/g of Ru) at 40°C and potential E = 0.5 V in the 2MKOH + 1 M C₂H₅OH electrolyte.     

Saturated nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds

A number of previously unknown 5-alkylpyrrolidones-2 and 1-methyl-5-alkylpyrrolidones-2 were synthesized by reductive amination of the ethyl esters of 8-ketocarboxylic acids with ammonium and methylamine in the presence of Raney nickel, ruthenium dioxide, or Raney nickel activated with ruthenium. The highest yields of 5-alkylpyrrolidones-2 were obtained when ruthenium dioxide was used as a catalyst. The acetyl derivatives of 5-alkylpyrrolidones-2 are described.For part II, see [1].     

Surfactant control of gas uptake: effect of butanol films on HCl and HBr entry into supercooled sulfuric acid

The entry of HCl into 60-68 wt % D(2)SO(4) and HBr into 68 wt % acid containing 0-0.18 M 1-butanol was monitored by measuring the fractions of impinging HCl and HBr molecules that desorb as DCl and DBr after undergoing H --> D exchange within the deuterated acid. The addition of 0.18 M butanol to the acid creates butyl films that reach approximately 80% surface coverage at 213 K. Surprisingly, this butyl film does not impede exchange but instead enhances it: the HCl --> DCl exchange fractions increase from 0.52 to 0.74 for 60 wt % D(2)SO(4) and from 0.14 to 0.27 for 68 wt % D(2)SO(4). HBr --> DBr exchange increases even more sharply, rising from 0.22 to 0.65 for 68 wt % D(2)SO(4). We demonstrate that this enhanced exchange corresponds to enhanced uptake into the butyl-coated acid for HBr and infer this equivalence for HCl. In contrast, the entry probability of the basic molecule CF(3)CH(2)OH exceeds 0.85 at all acid concentrations and is only slightly diminished by the butyl film. The OD groups of surface butanol molecules may assist entry by providing extra interfacial protonation sites for HCl and HBr dissociation. The experiments suggest that short-chain surfactants in sulfuric acid aerosols do not hinder heterogeneous reactions of HCl or HBr with other solute species.     

Nanocrystals,Nanorods and other Nanostructures of Nickel,Ruthenium, Rhodium and Iridium prepared by a Simple Solvothermal Procedure

The solvothermal decomposition of nickel acetate in n-octylamine medium at 250 °C gives rise to nickel nanostructures while in a hydrocarbon medium NiO nanostructures are obtained. It has been possible to obtain nickel nanorods of 12–15 nm diameter by this means. By carrying out the reaction at a slightly higher temperature, ultra-thin single-crystalline sheets of nickel are obtained. The nanorods and the thin sheets, with the FCC structure, are both ferromagnetic at room temperature, with the nanorods exhibiting high coercivities. It has been possible to obtain ruthenium, rhodium and iridium nanostructures by carrying out the decomposition of the respective metal acetylacetonates in a hydrocarbon (decalin or toluene) or an amine (n-octylamine or oleylamine) around 300 °C. Nanorod formation is favored by linear long-chain amines. The method described by us to prepare the nanostructures of nickel, ruthenium, rhodium and iridium is simple and straightforward compared to the literature procedures, the preparation of single-crystalline thin sheets of nickel by such a solution route being noteworthy. The nanostructures prepared in the amine media could be readily dispersed in hydrocarbon solvents. Dedicated to Professor Dr. Günther Schmid     

Synthesis and characterization of manganese(IV) and ruthenium(III) complexes derived from bis (2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde)oxaloyldihydrazone

Bis(2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde)oxaloyldihydrazone(naohH₄) interacts with manganese(II) acetate in methanol followed by addition of KOH giving [Mn^IV(naoh)(H₂O)₂]. Activated ruthenium(III) chloride reacts with naohH₄ in methanol yielding [Ru^III(naohH₄)Cl(H₂O)Cl₂]. The replacement of aquo by heterocyclic nitrogen donor in these complexes has been observed when the reaction is carried out in presence of heterocyclic nitrogen donors such as pyridine(py), 3-picoline(3-pic) or 4-picoline(4-pic). The molar conductance values in DMF for these complexes suggest non-electrolytic nature. Magnetic moment values suggest +4 oxidation state for manganese in its complexes, however, ruthenium(III) complexes are paramagnetic with one unpaired electron. Electronic spectral studies suggest six coordinate metal ions. IR spectra reveal that naohH₄ coordinates in enol-form and keto-form to manganese and ruthenium, respectively. ESR and cyclic voltammetric studies of the complexes have also been reported.     

Graphene supported electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation

Graphene nanosheet was prepared by modified Hummer’s chemical method and utilized as a catalyst support of PtRu nanoparticles for the electro-oxidation of methanol. Home-made graphene nanosheet was clearly characterized by Raman spectroscopy and we applied colloidal method to synthesize with high metal content of 80 wt.% Pt–Ru catalyst, which is extensively clarified by HR-TEM and XRD analysis. 80 wt.% Pt–Ru/graphene nanosheet catalyst showed superior electrochemical activity toward methanol oxidation compared to Pt–Ru/Vulcan XC-72R. It is due to the significant increase of electrochemical active surface area for better catalyst utilization.