Study of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-hexane isomerization on Pt/SO<Subscript>4</Subscript>/ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> catalysts: Effect of the state of platinum on catalytic and adsorption properties

The state of surface Pt atoms in the Pt/SO₄/ZrO₂/Al₂O₃ catalyst and the effect of the state of platinum on its adsorption and catalytic properties in the reaction of n-hexane isomerization were studied. The Pt-X/Al₂O₃ alumina-platinum catalysts modified with various halogens (X = Br, Cl, and F) and their mechanical mixtures with the SO₄/ZrO₂/Al₂O₃ superacid catalyst were used in this study. With the use of IR spectroscopy (CO_ads), oxygen chemisorption, and oxygen-hydrogen titration, it was found that ionic platinum species were present on the reduced form of the catalysts. These species can adsorb to three hydrogen atoms per each surface platinum atom. The specific properties of ionic platinum manifested themselves in the formation of a hydride form of adsorbed hydrogen. It is believed that the catalytic activity and operational stability of the superacid system based on sulfated zirconium dioxide were due to the participation of ionic and metallic platinum in the activation of hydrogen for the reaction of n-hexane isomerization.     

Study on chemisorption of H<Subscript>2</Subscript>, O<Subscript>2</Subscript>, CO and C<Subscript>2</Subscript>H<Subscript>4</Subscript>on Pt-Ag/SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>catalysts by microcalorimetry and FTIR

Adsorption microcalorimetry has been employed to study the interaction of ethylene with the reduced and oxidized Pt-Ag/SiO₂catalysts with different Ag contents to elucidate the modified effect of Ag towards the hydrocarbon processing on platinum catalysts. In addition, microcalorimetric adsorption of H₂, O₂, CO and FTIR of CO adsorption were conducted to investigate the influence of Ag on the surface structure of Pt catalyst. It is found from the microcalorimetric results of H₂and O₂adsorption that the addition of Ag to Pt/SiO₂leads to the enrichment of Ag on the catalyst surface which decreases the size of Pt surface ensembles of Pt-Ag/SiO₂catalysts. The microcalorimetry and FTIR of CO adsorption indicates that there still exist sites for linear and bridged CO adsorption on the surface of platinum catalysts simultaneously although Ag was incorporated into Pt/SiO₂. The ethylene microcalorimetric results show that the decrease of ensemble size of Pt surface sites suppresses the formation of dissociative species (ethylidyne) upon the chemisorption of C₂H₄on Pt-Ag/SiO₂. The differential heat vs. uptake plots for C₂H₄adsorption on the oxygen-preadsorbed Pt/SiO₂and Pt-Ag/SiO₂catalysts suggest that the incorporation of Ag to Pt/SiO₂could decrease the ability for the oxidation of C₂H₄.     

Kinetics of processes occurring at a H<Subscript>3</Subscript>PW<Subscript>12</Subscript>O<Subscript>40</Subscript>/Pt,H<Subscript>2</Subscript> interface depending on the platinum content on the electrode

Kinetics of processes occurring at H⁺/solid electrolyte/Pt, H₂ three-phase interface are studied subject to the platinum content on the electrode. The study was performed with model electrochemical cells PbO₂/H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/Pt with different platinum content at the working electrode that consisted of platinum deposited onto the E-Tek LT1200-N carbon-nanotubes paper. On the basis of the obtained results, the occurring processes were practically fully separated. It is shown by the analyzing of relaxation curves that there exist at least two processes in the system: the faster one corresponds to the hydrogen reaction; the slower, to the oxygen one. The rates of both processes depend on the platinum content at the working electrode; they have an extreme at the platinum concentration of 0.5 mg/cm². Impedance data allowed revealing the processes’ limiting stages. The experimental data allowed suggesting that at low platinum content the relaxation time is determined by the electrochemical reaction rate; at higher content, by gas diffusion through the platinum dense layer.     

Hydrothermal synthesis and thermodynamic properties of 2CaO·3B<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>·H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O

2CaO·3B₂O₃·H₂O which has non-linear optical (NLO) property was synthesized under hydrothermal condition and identified by XRD, FTIR and TG as well as by chemical analysis. The molar enthalpy of solution of 2CaO·3B₂O₃·H₂O in HCl·54.572H₂O was determined. From a combination of this result with measured enthalpies of solution of H₃BO₃ in HCl·54.501H₂O and of CaO in (HCl+H₃BO₃) solution, together with the standard molar enthalpies of formation of CaO(s), H₃BO₃(s), and H₂O(l), the standard molar enthalpy of formation of −(5733.7±5.2) kJ mol⁻¹ of 2CaO·3B₂O₃·H₂O was obtained. Thermodynamic properties of this compound were also calculated by a group contribution method.     

Nitration of Aromatic Compounds Catalyzed by Divanadium-Substituted Molybdophosphoric Acid,H<Subscript>5</Subscript>[PMo<Subscript>10</Subscript>V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>40</Subscript>]

Summary. The nitration of aromatic compounds was carried out in the presence of divanadium-substituted molybdophosphoric acid, H₅PMo₁₀V₂O₄₀, as catalyst and a mixture of nitric acid and acetic anhydride as nitrating agent. In the presence of this heteropolyacid the ortho- and para-nitro compounds were obtained in good to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions.     

Properties of the surface layer and catalytic activity of Ta<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> with Pt or Pd additives in the oxidation of hydrogen

The catalytic activity in the oxidation of hydrogen (in the gaseous state in the presence of excess oxygen) has been studied for samples of Pt(Pd)/Ta₂O_5−x, formed by reduction with hydrogen. The samples obtained had greater activity than the traditional catalysts Pt(Pd)/Al₂O₃. According to X-ray diffraction analysis and electron microscopic studies, Ta₂O_5−x becomes amorphous with the formation of more reduced non-stoichiometric oxygen-deficient tantalum oxides with a surface layer of catalyst. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 180–185, May–June, 2008.     

Osmotic Coefficients of the Li<Subscript>2</Subscript>B<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>7</Subscript>+LiCl + H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O System at <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>=273.15 K

Osmotic coefficients and water activities for the Li₂B₄O₇+LiCl+H₂O system have been measured at T=273.15 K by the isopiestic method, using an improved apparatus. Two types of osmotic coefficients, φ _S and φ _E, were determined. φ _S is based on the stoichiometric molalities of the solute Li₂B₄O₇(aq), and φ _E is based on equilibrium molalities from consideration of the equilibrium speciation into H₃BO₃,B(OH)₄⁻ and B₃O₃(OH)₄⁻. The stoichiometric equilibrium constants K _m for the aqueous speciation reactions were estimated. Two types of representations of the osmotic coefficients for the Li₂B₄O₇+LiCl+H₂O system are presented with ion-interaction models based on Pitzer’s equations with minor modifications: model (I) represents the φ _S data with six parameters based on considering the ion-interactions between three ionic species of Li⁺, Cl⁻, and B₄O₇²⁻, and model (II) for represents the φ _E data based on considering the equilibrium speciation. The parameters of models (I) and (II) are presented. The standard deviations for the two models are 0.0152 and 0.0298, respectively. Model (I) was more satisfactory than model (II) for representing the isopiestic data.     

Selective skeletal isomerization of alkanes over partially reduced MoO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The surface area and the pentane isomerization activity of Pt/MoO₃ were enlarged by H₂ reduction. The enlargements was observed only when the reduction proceeded through the formation of hydrogen molybdenum bronze, H_xMoO₃. The catalytic activities of H₂-reduced MoO₃ with different noble metals for pentane isomerization and 2-propanol dehydration depended on the ability of noble metal to produce the H_xMoO₃ phases. H₂-reduced Pt/MoO₃ was more active for pentane isomerization than Pt/H, and its activity was comparable to that of Pt/HZSM-5. In heptane isomerization, H₂-reduced Pt/MoO₃ exhibited a lower activity than Pt/H, although heptane was isomerized very selectively. Strong adsorption of heptane onto H₂-reduced Pt/MoO₃ is likely to be a reason for its lower heptane isomerization activity.     

Review of Ag/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-Reductant System in the Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>

Ag/Al₂O₃ is a promising catalyst for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) by hydrocarbons (HC) of NO _x in both laboratory and diesel engine bench tests. New developments of the HC-SCR of NO _x over a Ag/Al₂O₃ catalyst are reviewed, including the efficiencies and sulfur tolerances of different Ag/Al₂O₃-reductant systems for the SCR of NO _x ; the low-temperature activity improvement of H₂-assisted HC-SCR of NO _x over Ag/Al₂O₃; and the application of a Ag/Al₂O₃-ethanol SCR system with a heavy-duty diesel engine. The discussions are focused on the reaction mechanisms of different Ag/Al₂O₃-reductant systems and H₂-assisted HC-SCR of NO _x over Ag/Al₂O₃. A SO₂-resistant surface structure in situ synthesized on Ag/Al₂O₃ by using ethanol as a reductant is proposed based on the study of the sulfate formation. These results provide new insight into the design of a high-efficiency NO _x reduction system. The diesel engine bench test results showed that a Ag/Al₂O₃-ethanol system is promising for catalytic cleaning of NO _x in diesel exhaust.     

Oxidation of hydrogen on previously reduced Ta<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> with Pt and Pd additives

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to establish that the surface layer of catalysts obtained by the reduction of Ta₂O₅ with added Pt and Pd by hydrogen contains nonstoichiometric oxides TaO_x, which enhance the activity of the catalyst. A study of the hydrogen oxidation kinetics showed that the kinetic relationships are described satisfactorily by the Eley-Riedel mechanism, according to which the reaction occurs by an interaction of hydrogen from the gas phase with adsorbed oxygen. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 254–258, July–August, 2008.     

Model of the catalytic reaction 2H<Subscript>2</Subscript> + O<Subscript>2</Subscript> → H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O with the participation of molecules in a precursor state

The absence of experimental evidence for the occurrence of the catalytic reaction 2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O on platinum in accordance with the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism was established. It was found that the heterogeneous process can be described more adequately and its nature can be better understood with consideration for chemical transformations involving molecules in a precursor state in a model of the above reaction. The inverse kinetic problem was solved. It was found that the model in which an unambiguously specified set of rate constants for the elementary steps of the reaction was used provided an opportunity to describe experimental data obtained by various authors concerning the oxidation of hydrogen on platinum over the detonating gas pressure range 10^?3-10⁵ Pa. The signs of the occurrence of heterogeneous reactions by an adsorption mechanism were found.     

Hydrogen generation from H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O/H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript>/MnWO<Subscript>4</Subscript> system

Hydrogen gas as a clear energy resource was found to be largely bubbled from a H₂O/H₂O₂/MnWO₄ system. MnWO₄ powder was fabricated by an aqueous reaction method. The powder was characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS). The efficiency of the hydrogen generation increases with an increase in initial pH in the appropriate range, H₂O₂ proportion, MnWO₄ proportion, and intensity of light resource. Calcining at 400 °C for 1 h can make the MnWO₄ powder synthesized by an aqueous reaction more effective for H₂ generation and more stable in higher initial pH. The MnWO₄ catalyst shows a long-term stability for photocatalytic H₂ generation. A mechanism was suggested for the hydrogen generation from the H₂O/H₂O₂/MnWO₄ system together with XPS analysis.     

Reducibility of Mo species in Pt/MoO3 and PtMo/Al2O3 catalysis

Recucibility of Mo species in Pt/MoO₃ and PtMo/Al₂O₃ has been investigated by temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), temperature-programmed desorption of hydrogen (H₂-TPD) and temperature programmed electronic conductivity (TPEC) techniques. In Pt/MoO₃ at H₂ atmosphere, it was found by TPEC and TPR that, a slight amount of Pt could activate the transfer of the species and H atoms between H₂ and MoO₃, and thus accelerate the reduction of MoO₃. In PtMo/Al₂O₃, TPR and H₂-TPD revealed that the reduction of surface Mo species could also be facilitated by Pt. Two kinds of hydrogen molybdenum species were proposed on the surface of the catalyst after prereduction.     

Thermal oxide synthesis and characterization of Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanorods and Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanowires

Fe₃O₄ nanorods and Fe₂O₃ nanowires have been synthesized through a simple thermal oxide reaction of Fe with C₂H₂O₄ solution at 200–600°C for 1 h in the air. The morphology and structure of Fe₃O₄ nanorods and Fe₂O₃ nanowires were detected with powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The influence of temperature on the morphology development was experimentally investigated. The results show that the polycrystals Fe₃O₄ nanorods with cubic structure and the average diameter of 0.5–0.8 μm grow after reaction at 200–500°C for 1 h in the air. When the temperature was 600°C, the samples completely became Fe₂O₃ nanowires with hexagonal structure. It was found that C₂H₂O₄ molecules had a significant effect on the formation of Fe₃O₄ nanorods. A possible mechanism was also proposed to account for the growth of these Fe₃O₄ nanorods. Supported by the Fund of Weinan Teacher’s University (Grant No. 08YKZ008), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20573072) and the Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20060718010)     

Facilitated Transport of C<Subscript>2</Subscript>H<Subscript>4</Subscript> in a SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)-Ag<Superscript>+</Superscript> Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Membrane

Inorganic-organic hybrid membranes containing silica as the structure matrix, poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) as the organic mediating agent and silver ions as olefinic carriers were prepared using sol–gel method and dip-coating process. The structure and permeances of the membranes for N₂, He, C₂H₄, C₂H₆ at different temperatures indicated that defect-free membranes were obtained and the transportation of the C₂H₄ through the membranes followed the dissolution and diffusion mechanism. Ideal separation factors of C₂H₄/C₂H₆ through the membranes were evaluated at the temperature of 298, 373 and 423 K respectively using mixture gas of 50% C₂H₄-50% C₂H₆. The results showed that the ideal separation factors of C₂H₄/C₂H₆ through the membranes were obviously greater than the ratio of PC₂H₄/PC₂H₆ obtained from the single gas measurement due to the hindering effect by the adsorbed C₂H₄. The ideal separation factors of C₂H₄/C₂H₆ increased with temperature and reached 10 at 423 K, which suggested that C₂H₄ and C₂H₆ could be separated at lower humidity compared to the reported organic polymer/silver salt membranes in which humidified gases and higher silver loading were usually used. The transport of C₂H₄ in the inorganic-organic hybrid membrane was proposed to follow the hopping mechanism, that is, olefins moved across the fixed silver sites.     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study of the interaction of supported metal catalysts with NO<Subscript>x</Subscript>

The reactions of the platinum and rhodium model catalysts applied to aluminum oxide with NO_x (10 Torr NO + 10 Torr O₂) were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The reaction conducted at room temperature formed on the surface of the oxide support the NO _3,s ^? nitrate ions characterized by the N1s line at 407.4 eV and O1s line at 533.1 eV and the NO _2,s ^? nitrite ions characterized by the N1s line with a binding energy of 404.7 eV. At the same time, the Pt4f and Rh3d lines of the supported platinum particles are shifted toward higher binding energies by 0.5–1.0 eV and 0.7–1.2 eV, respectively. It is assumed that the binding energies increase due to changes in the chemical state of the platinum metal in which oxygen is dissolved. The reaction of NO_x with Pt/Al₂O₃ at 200°C forms platinum oxide defined by the Pt4f _7/2 line with a binding energy of 72.3 eV.     

Modeling the active centers of V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript>/SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript>/TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> supported catalysts. DFT theoretical analysis of optical properties

Within the framework of the density functional theory (DFT), the electronic structure of monooxodioxovanadium functional groups in tetrahedral coordination, which model the active centers (ACs) of fine supported catalysts V₂O₅/SiO₂ and V₂O₅/TiO₂, has been analyzed. The optimal structures of three ACs as possible models of monomeric and polymeric oxovanadium forms on the carriers with low vanadium content were determined. The modified DFT method involving the time dependence of Kohn-Sham equation (TDDFT) was used for the adopted AC models to calculate the energies of the excited states, and optical spectra of the absorption in 25000–60000 cm^?1 region were reconstructed on their base. The spectrum in this region is due to O → V charge transfer. The features of electronic spectra with the charge transfer for V₂O₅/SiO₂ and V₂O₅/TiO₂ catalysts and the vibrational spectra of three AC models corresponding to the monomeric and dimeric oxovanadium forms of the supported catalysts V₂O₅/SiO₂ and V₂O₅/TiO₂ were defined. The detailed interpretation of normal vibration frequencies is given. The frequencies typical of the monomeric and dimeric oxovanadium forms on the carrier surface were identified.     

Structure of the Cu(Salen) molecule Cuo<Subscript>2</Subscript>N<Subscript>2</Subscript>C<Subscript>16</Subscript>H<Subscript>14</Subscript> according to gas-phase electron diffraction data and quantum chemical calculations

In the framework of synchronous gas-phase electron diffraction and mass spectrometry experiment, the saturated vapor of N,N′-ethylenebis(salicylaldiminate) copper(II) CuO₂N₂C₁₆H₁₄ is studied at a temperature T 574(5) K. It is found that evaporation is congruent and the saturated vapor consists of monomeric molecules. Electron diffraction data are proved to correspond to the geometric model for the CuO₂N₂C₁₆H₁₄ molecule of C ₂ symmetry with an almost planar structure of the CuN₂O₂ coordination fragment and internuclear distances \(r_{h_1 } \)(Cu-O) = 1.917(13) Å and \(r_{h_1 } \)(Cu-N) = 1.931(15) Å. The stuctural parameters obtained are compared to those quantum chemically calculated and molecular parameters in crystals.     

Preparation and electrochemical properties of V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> submicron-belts synthesized by a sol–gel H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> route

One-dimensional (1D) submicron-belts of V₂O₅ have been prepared by a sol–gel route using V₂O_5, H₂O₂ and aniline as starting materials. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed to characterize the samples. Electrochemical behaviors as cathode material in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries were investigated by galvanostatic charge–discharge measurement and cyclic voltammeter. The results showed that the synthesized V₂O₅ appeared to be submicron-belts and orthorhombic structure. The V₂O₅ submicron-belts exhibited a high initial discharge capacity of 346 mAh/g and stayed 240 mAh/g after 20 cycles at 0.1 C discharge rate in the potential region 1.8–4.0 V.     

Formation of Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> bilayer using atomic layer deposition and its application to dynamic random access memory

To enhance film conformality together with electrical property suitable for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) capacitor dielectric, the effects of oxidant and post heat treatment were investigated on aluminum and titanium oxide (Al₂O₃–TiO₂) bilayer (ATO) thin film formed by atomic layer deposition method. For the conformal deposition of Al₂O₃ thin film, the O₃ oxidant required a higher deposition temperature, more than 450 °C, while H₂O or combined oxygen sources (H₂O+O₃) needed a wide range of deposition temperatures ranging from 250 to 450 °C. Conformal deposition of the TiO₂ thin film was achieved at around 325 °C regardless of the oxidants. The charge storage capacitance, measured from the ATO bilayer (4 nm Al₂O₃ and 2 nm TiO₂) deposited at 450 °C for Al₂O₃ and 325 °C for TiO₂ with O₃ oxidant on the phosphine-doped poly silicon trench, showed about 15% higher value than that of 5 nm Al₂O₃ single layer thin film without any increase of leakage current. To maintain the improved electrical property of the ATO bilayer for DRAM application, such as enhanced charge capacitance without increase of leakage current, upper electrode materials and post heat treatments after electrode formation must be selected carefully. Dedicated to Professor Su-Il Pyun on the occasion of his 65th birthday.