Mesoporous Silica Supported Sulfated Zirconia Prepared by a Sol–Gel Process

Mesoporous silica-supported sulfated zirconia aerogels with different Zr/Si and S/Zr molar ratios were prepared using a one-step preparation. The characterization of these solids was conducted using N₂ physisorption at 77 K, X-ray diffraction, mass spectrometry, and sulfur chemical analysis. The isomerization of n-Hexane was used as a catalytic test. Highly improved textural properties were obtained for these solids, and two types of mesopores were observed. Depending on the zirconium content, the size and amount of mesopores are highly affected. The importance of sulfates effectively bonded to Zr(IV) is elucidated, both for achieving high catalytic activity and for a good sulfur thermal stability. The catalytic activity (for a sample prepared with a particular S/Zr ratio) expressed per gram of Zr(IV) is comparable to that of pure sulfated zirconia.     

New process to control hydrolysis step during sol-gel preparation of sulfated zirconia catalysts

Sulfated zirconia catalysts were prepared by sol-gel process using a new method allowing the control of the hydrolysis step of zirconium alkoxides. Prepared samples were characterized by N₂ adsorption (desorption) at 77 K, XRD, chemical analysis of total sulfur and XPS. Catalytic properties have been evaluated in n-butane and n-hexane isomerization reactions. Obtained results show that time necessary for gelation is significant and depends considerably on the nature of the zirconium precursor. Concerning the properties of the solids obtained by this method, it has been noted that the use of the zirconium propoxide led to a better retention of the sulfate species, which improves activity during isomerization reactions. It has been found also that an initial S/Zr molar ratio equal to 0.5 allowed to obtain an optimal sulfur content and a high specific surface area.     

Control Preparation of Sulfated Zirconia by Sol-Gel Process: Impact on Catalytic Performances During n-Hexane Isomerization

Sulfated zirconia catalysts were prepared by sol-gel method using CH₃COOH as in situ water source to control hydrolysis of alkoxide, and following two sulfation procedures. The samples were characterized by N₂ adsorption, XRD, chemical analysis, and the activity for isomerization of n-hexane was assessed. It was found that sulfation procedure and the amount of acetic acid added exert a great influence on the catalysts properties. Mixture of sulfuric acid with zirconium propoxide before addition of acetic acid allows the retention of a larger amount of sulfur after calcination and enhances catalytic performances of sulfated zirconia. The use of CH₃COOH reduces the rate of hydrolysis, and improves considerably acidic and catalytic properties.     

Simultaneous Al2O3 Doping and Sulfation in Hierarchically Porous ZrO2 Solid Acids by an One‐pot Synthesis for Enhanced Recycling Catalytic Performances

Alumina doping and sulfation in hierarchically porous zirconia solid acids have been achieved simultaneously via one‐pot and bi‐surfactant‐assisted self‐assembly process, using aluminum sulfate as both Al and SO₄^2? sources. The prepared composite solid acids showed much enhanced acidity and recycling catalytic activity for an esterification reaction compared with sulfated zirconia without alumina doping and Al‐doped sulfated zirconia without hierarchically porous structure.     

Low temperature carbon monoxide catalytic oxidation at the Pd/Ce–Zr–Al–Ox catalyst

The homogeneous chemical composition ceria–zirconia–alumina (Ce–Zr–Al–O_x) nano-alloy were successfully synthesized by surfactant-assisted parallel flow co-precipitation method and applied as supports for low temperature CO oxidation. The experiment conditions were studied in detailed. At 0.92 wt% Pd loading, 30,000 ppm CO could be completely oxidized to CO₂ at 30 °C at a WHSV of 4,380 ml g^?1 h^?1 over the Pd/Ce–Zr–Al–O_x (n_Ce:n_Zr = 3:1) catalyst. Pd/Ce–Zr–Al–O_x catalysts were systematical studied by mean of BET, XRD and TEM analysis. XRD characterization showed that zirconium element entered into cubic structure of ceria and leaded to structure distortion. Addition of aluminum increased specific surface area of ceria–zirconia solid solution substantially. The average pore diameter of Ce–Zr–Al–O_x support palladium catalysts were the key impact factor for CO oxidation. When the Pd/Ce–Zr–Al–O_x catalysts had highly dispersed palladium nanoparticles, large average pore diameter, suitable surface area and pore volume, the activity of CO oxidation was the best.     

Evaluation of the acid properties of porous zirconium-doped and undoped silica materials

A series of porous silica and Zr-doped silica molecular sieves, belonging to the MCM-41 and MSU families, were prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and N₂ adsorption at 77 K. Their acid properties have been evaluated by NH₃-TPD, adsorption of pyridine and deuterated acetonitrile coupled to FT-IR spectroscopy and the catalytic tests of isopropanol decomposition and isomerization of 1-butene. The acidity of purely siliceous solids were, in all cases, very low, while the incorporation of Zr(IV) into the siliceous framework produced an enhancement of the acidity. The adsorption of basic probe molecules and the catalytic behaviour revealed that Zr-doped MSU-type silica was more acidic than the analogous Zr-MCM-41 solid, with a similar Zr content. This high acidity observed in the case of Zr-doped silica samples is due to the presence of surface zirconium atoms with a low coordination, mainly creating Lewis acid sites.     

Chemistry of Preparation of Alumina Aerogels in Presence of a Complexing Agent

Transition alumina with both high specific surface area (SSA) and quite important pore volumes deserve some interest in the field of heterogeneous catalysis as such alumina can be used as supports for different active phases, namely those used in hydroprocessing reactions. Alumina has been synthesised by a sol-gel method for which a key parameter, examined in this study, is the introduction of chelating agents such as butan-1,3-diol or acetylacetone (Hacac) in the aluminium-tri-sec butylate (ASB, the chosen Al precursor) solution. The study of the complexation chemistry for a complexing agent/Al alkoxide molar ratio (C) equal to 1, 2 and 3 was carried out. Some species in initial solutions were identified by IR and ²⁷Al NMR spectroscopies, and the dried solids were characterised by the combined use of elemental analysis, XRD and IR spectroscopy. After hydrolysis of the precursor, the dried solids exhibited the boehmitestructure, more or less crystallised whatever the C ratio when butan-1,3-diol was used whereas a formulation Al(acac)(OH)₂ was obtained when Hacac was introduced with a ratio C = 1. It has been shown that the increase in the C ratio up to 2 or 3 induces the precipitation of well-defined Al(acac)₃ particles before hydrolysis. This compound was also present in small quantities in the dried gel for C = 1. After calcination at 500°C, more or less well crystallised -alumina was obtained. Compared to those of the reference alumina, the textural parameters are strongly modified by the use of a complexing agent. Moreover, Hacac has a stronger effect than butane-1,3-diol on the textural characteristics of the support.     

The role of complexing ligands in the formation of non-aggregated nanoparticles of zirconia

The hydrolysis and condensation of zirconium n-propoxide in n-propanol have been chemically controlled via the complexation of the zirconium precursor with acetylacetone. The size of the zirconium oxide-based particles is mainly controlled by the complexation ratio x=[acac]/[Zr]. the mean size increases from nanometric to submicronic range when x decreases from 1 to 0.1. Amorphous colloidal particles are obtained at room temperature. They result from a competitive growth/termination mechanism of zirconium-oxo species in the presence of acac surface capping agents. However non-aggregated nanocrystalline particles of tetragonal zirconia, about 2 nm in diameter are formed upon aging at 60°C when hydrolysis is performed in the presence of paratoluene sulfonic acid (PTSA).     

Comparative Study of the Acidity of Sulphated Zirconia Supported on Alumina Prepared by Sol-Gel and Impregnation Methods

Sulphated and unsulphated alumina-zirconia with atomic ratio Zr/Al = 0.5 were prepared by sol-gel and impregnation methods. The solid prepared by the sol-gel method exhibits the higher specific surface area. The Kelvin probe shows that the value of unsulphated sample is around 400 mV. This value grows up to 1100 mV for sample prepared by impregnation of aerogel alumina by sulphated propoxide zirconium and up to 1450 mV for sulphated alumina-zirconia aerogel catalyst. The modification of the work function is probably due to the charge transfer from the zirconium and aluminium to an oxygen species, responsible for the increase of Lewis acidity. XPS results show that the aluminium and zirconium exist in oxide form as Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂. The sulphur is present as sulphate species in the solids bonded to the Al—Zr—O framework. Furthermore, the oxygen species exist in different types created by the introduction of sulphur in the bulk of solids.Compared to the impregnated catalyst the sol-gel sulphated alumina zirconia exhibits higher activity in the isopropanol dehydration reaction in the temperature range 423 K–523 K.     

Structural influence of the carbon chain length in hybrid materials obtained from zirconium n-propoxide and diols

Zirconium n-propoxide Zr(OPr ⁿ )₄ has been chemically modified by 1,3-propanediol and 1,3-butanediol with molar ratio r=0.5, 1 and 2. The properties of the hybrid organic-inorganic materials obtained after drying at 100°C for 24 hours have been measured by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, infra-red spectroscopy and ¹³C NMR with cross-polarisation at magic angle spinning. Chemical modification of the zirconium precursor at a molecular level has been clearly detected, with a bridging coordination mode for both diols. If the coordination mode of the diols cannot be changed by increasing the carbon chain length, it was found using ¹³C CP MAS NMR that the local order is much more well-defined when the reactivity of both OH groups are not the same. Thus, using 1,3-butanediol which has a primary and a secondary OH group, it is possible to obtain after complete modification (r=2) a highly homogeneous hybrid polymer which transforms directly into tetragonal zirconia below 400°C. With other diols (1,2-ethanediol and 1,3-propanediol), the hybrid materials transform into tetragonal zirconia above 400°C through a decomposition process involving several steps. Then playing with the carbon chain length and/or the steric hindrance around the OH groups provides an easy way to monitor the ultrastructure of these hybrid materials, and allows a better control of the gel oxide transformation.     

Sol gel derived Pd/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> as catalysts for methane combustion: effect of zirconium loading

A series of Pd/Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ materials have been prepared via sol gel method as an attractive route to obtain more homogeneous binary oxides Al₂O₃–ZrO₂. A Zr loading between 2 and 15 wt% was used to investigate the Zr promotion of Pd/Al₂O₃ materials. The prepared catalysts were calcined at two different temperatures. Very interesting results have been obtained at low zirconium content. A small amount of Zr is seen to be sufficient to stabilize the activity and to obtain good catalytic performances with developed textural properties compared to conventional catalysts used to oxidize methane. The increase of the zirconium loading is seen to decrease the catalytic activity may be due to the development of tetragonal zirconia phase detected by XRD. Similar effect has been observed after heating catalysts at high temperatures. A loss in BET surface area and in metal dispersion has been also observed for zirconium rich catalysts. A contradictory effect on textural and structural properties is seen after their calcination at 700 °C.     

Effect of Zirconia Precursor on the Properties of ZrO2-SiO2 Sol-Gel Oxides

Sol-gel zirconia-silica oxides were synthesized with two zirconium precursors, zirconium n-butoxide and zirconium acetylacetonate, and two different hydrolysis catalysts, HCl and H₂SO₄. The samples prepared with HCl were additionally sulfated with a 1 M solution of H₂SO₄. Characterization was performed with FTIR and ²⁹Si-MAS-NMR spectroscopy, as well as with nitrogen adsorption. Because zirconium and silicon alkoxides have different hydrolysis rates, it was necessary to perform a pre-hydrolysis of the silicon alkoxide before mixing. The atom distribution in the ZrO₂-SiO₂ system depended on the zirconium precursor, which also determined the zirconium incorporation in the silica lattice, which was greater for zirconium acetylacetonate. The zirconium precursor also was responsible for the silanol concentration, which increases when samples were sulfated. Sulfating stabilizes the specific surface area. On sulfate samples calcined at 800°C BET areas larger than 500 m²/g were obtained.     

Influence of calcination temperature on surface acidity of the solid superacid of sulfated alumina

The acidity of sulfated alumina catalysts was studied by analyzing DTG and heat of Ar adsorption together with the isomerization of pentane. The initial acid sites were Brönsted-type, and converted into Lewis-type upon increasing the pretreatment temperature. The heat of Ar adsorption of the most active sulfated alumina was 18.9 kJ mol^–1, this value being a little smaller than that of sulfated zirconia (23.6 kJ mol^–1).This revised version was published online in December 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Preparation of Alumina Supported Palladium Catalysts by Sol-Gel Method

The chemical reactivity of the aluminium-sec-butoxide (ASB) and the palladium acetylacetonate Pd(acac)₂, used as precursors for the preparation of the alumina supported palladium catalysts by sol-gel method was investigated by the spectroscopic study of the precursor mixture during ageing, using FTIR, UV-VIS and ²⁷Al NMR. The obtaind results showed that acetylacetonate ligands were linked to aluminum when the mixture was aged at 40°C. This was proved by the bands observed at 1530 and 1600 cm^–1 in the FTIR spectra, the band obtained at 289 nm in the UV-VIS spectra and the ²⁷Al NMR sharp peak at 3 ppm. Furthermore, in order to avoid the Pd(acac)₂ reduction to metallic palladium by the SB occurring when the mixture is aged for 3 h, an optimum ageing time should be selected. The precursors modification and the preservation of the palladium oxidation state during ageing could be the required conditions to create a bond between palladium and aluminium during the gelation step. This should be the reason of the thermal stability improvement of the alumina supported palladium catalyst prepared by the sol-gel method.     

The molecular composition of non-modified and acac-modified propoxide and butoxide precursors of zirconium and hafnium dioxides

Long-term storage at 0 °C of a paraffin-sealed flask with commercial 70 wt% solution of zirconium n-propoxide in n-propanol resulted in crystallization of an individual oxoalkoxide complex Zr₄O(OⁿPr)₁₄(ⁿPrOH)₂ in over 20% yield. The structure of this molecule can be described as a triangular Zr₃(μ₃-O)(OR)₁₀(ROH) core of 3 edge-sharing octahedrons with an additional Zr(OR)₄(ROH) unit attached through a pair of (μ-OR) bridges. Mass spectrometric and ¹H NMR investigation of the commercial samples of the most broadly applied zirconium and hafnium n-propoxides and n-butoxides indicate the presence of analogous species in the commercial alkoxide precursors. The content of oxo-alkoxide species in the commercial precursors has been estimated to be ~20% for n-propoxide and ~35% for zirconium n-butoxide. A new route has been presented for synthesis of the individual crystalline mixed ligand precursor [Zr(OⁿPr)(OⁱPr)₃(ⁱPrOH)]₂, from zirconium n-propoxide. A high yield has been observed (~90%), indicative of an almost complete precursor transformation. Mass spectrometry has shown that the synthesized mixed ligand precursor is dimeric, which makes it an attractive alternative to zirconium n-propoxide. Addition of 1 eq of Acetylacetone to zirconium or hafnium alkoxide precursors results in formation of dimeric [M(OR)₃(acac)]₂ in high yields. These species have limited stability (much higher for Hf than for Zr) and transform in solution into hydrolysis-insensitive M(acac)₄ through very unstable M(acac)₃(OR) intermediates containing 7-coordinated metal centers. This transformation can be followed kinetically in hydrocarbon solvents by ¹H NMR and is noticeably accelerated by addition of parent alcohols. The obtained results clearly reveal limited applicability of EXAFS and XANES techniques for the study of such systems, especially in the context of structure prediction. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Sol-Gel Cu-ZrO2 and Fe-ZrO2 Catalysts

Fe-ZrO₂ and Cu-ZrO₂ xerogels were prepared by a sol-gel method. The effect of the hydrolysis catalyst during the gelation step, namely H₂SO₄ or NH₄OH, on the properties of the resulting materials was investigated by XRD, BET, TGA/DTA, TPD of ammonia, FTIR, and TPR. Fe-ZrO₂ and Cu-ZrO₂ xerogels, with sulfuric acid introduced as the hydrolysis catalyst, mainly crystallyzed in the tetragonal phase and exhibited larger surface area and acid amount than those obtained with NH₄OH. Ammonia TPD shows that copper promoted sulfated zirconia is the most acidic material. TGA and FTIR reveal that under oxidizing conditions sulfated zirconia promoted with iron and copper retains more sulfate species than unpromoted sulfated zirconia. Regardless of the hydrolysis catalyst employed, copper promoted catalysts calcined at 600°C, contain a large fraction of copper oxide specieseasily reduced at low temperatures. These copper oxide species are believed to have different environment and interactions with the surface oxygen vacancies of the zirconia support. A FeO-like phase appears to be the most probable one after reduction of Fe-ZrO₂ catalysts prepared with NH₄OH as the hydrolysis catalyst. The formation of Fe° species may be hindered by the high dispersion and interaction of Fe²⁺ ions with the zirconia support. On the other hand, the reduction peaks of iron oxide and sulfate species exhibit a considerable overlap in the TPR profiles of sulfated Fe-ZrO₂ samples. Hence, the nature of the supported phase in the latter samples is rather uncertain.     

Effect of Al and Ce on Zr-pillared bentonite and their performance in catalytic oxidation of phenol

Catalysts based on pillared clays with Zr and/or Al and Ce–Zr and/or Al polycations have been synthesized from a Tunisian bentonite and tested in catalytic oxidation of phenol at 298 K. The Zr-pillared clay showed higher activity than the Al-one in phenol oxidation. Mixed Zr–Al pillars lead to an enhancement of the catalytic activity due to the modification of the zirconium properties. The clays modified with Ce showed high conversions of phenol and TOC thus showing to be very selective towards the formation of CO₂ and H₂O.     

Zinc oxide nanowires in chemical bath on seeded substrates: Role of hexamine

Ceria-doped alumina sol-gel materials were obtained by two synthesis methods at low temperature; using method A, 2-propanol-diluted cerium precursor was slowly added at the time of the aluminum sol formation in acidic environment; using method B, the cerium salt was mixed with the aluminum alkoxide before sol formation in a basic environment. The supports were characterized by N₂ physisorption, thermogravimetric and thermal differential analyses (TGA and DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ²⁷Al Magic Angle Spinning-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MAS-NMR), 2-propanol reactions, and ammonia temperature-programmed desorption (NH₃-TPD). The samples obtained by Method B present similar values in properties such as specific areas, pore volumes, pore size distribution, and acidity compared to those of pure alumina; the alumina structure was not modified, but segregated crystallites of CeO₂ were found in samples calcined at 1000 ^∘C, as observed by XRD. The ceria-containing materials synthesized by method A show a thermal behavior similar to that of alumina, with no appreciable segregation of CeO₂ detected by XRD and modifications in the amounts of tetra, penta, and octa-hedral aluminum coordination as determined by NMR. 2-propanol reactions showed a good correlation with acid density determined by NH₃-TPD. As the percentage of ceria in the material increases, surface area, pore volume, and acidity decrease. These changes can be correlated with an increase of pentacoordinated aluminum content. The results indicate that CeO₂ is well dispersed in the alumina framework when method A is used, but synthesis method B does not have the same effect on the CeO₂incorporation.     

Preparation and characterization of mesoporous tetragonal sulfated zirconia

Mesoporous tetragonal sulfated zirconia with high surface area and narrow pore-size distribution was prepared using Zr(O-nPr)_4 as zirconium precursor,sulfuric acid as sulfur source and triblock copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(propylene glycol)-poly (ethylene glycol)(P123) as the template.The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction,N_2 sorption,TEM,and NH_3-TPD. A phase transformation from monoclinic sulfated zirconia to tetragonal sulfated zirconia is observed.The product shows strong acidi...     

Silica supported sulfated zirconia prepared by a sol-gel process: Effect of solvent evacuation procedure on the structural, textural and catalytic properties

Sol-gel process was used to prepare silica supported sulfated zirconia catalysts. The main parameter studied in this work was the gel drying method through four different ways of solvent evacuation. Textural, structural as well as the acidic properties of the four samples were studied using N₂ physisorption, X-ray diffraction, mass spectrometry, sulfur chemical analysis and adsorption-desorption of pyridine. The isomerization of n-hexane was used as a catalytic test. The surface areas and the pore distributions are highly affected by the drying mode. One of the four drying methods leads to a solid having improved textural properties and presenting both the crystalline ZrO₂ tetragonal phase and a particular type of sulfate mode bond. It seems that these three conditions are necessary for achieving high catalytic activity.