Oxygen species on NiO/Al2O3 and their reactivities

Oxygen species on fresh and treated NiO/Al₂O₃ and their activities for oxidation of ethane and ethylene were investigated using catalytic property measurements, ethane and ethylene pulse experiments and O₂–TPD–MS experiments. The results revealed that there are two kinds of active oxygen species (the more active one and the less active one) on fresh NiO/Al₂O₃ catalyst, but there is only one active oxygen species, the less active one, on treated NiO/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The more active oxygen species can convert ethane or ethylene to carbon dioxide by one step while the less active one can only convert ethane to ethylene, but cannot convert ethane and/or ethylene to carbon dioxide. The more active oxygen species can be removed from the catalyst by heating from 350 to 850 °C. The amounts of desorption oxygen on the catalysts are proportional to their selectivity to carbon dioxide.