分子氧气相环氧化丙烯反应的Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3催化剂:Cu和Cl负载量的影响

环氧丙烷(PO)是一种重要的有机化工中间体,可以用来生产聚氨酯、丙二醇和表面活性剂等化工产品,具有很高的工业应用价值.然而,目前PO的生产工艺仍然存在着环境污染、副产物、原料经济性等不足之处.考虑到环保、技术、资金等关键性问题,丙烯气相环氧化工艺是PO生产工艺未来的发展方向,利用分子氧作为氧化剂的丙烯气相环氧化反应是最理想、原子经济性最高的反应,也是当今催化界最具挑战性的课题之一.研究报道Ag基催化剂和Cu基催化剂催化丙烯气相环氧化反应可得到较好的催化性能.尽管Ag催化剂催化乙烯氧化制环氧乙烷反应已成功实现工业化,但是Ag催化剂催化丙烯环氧化反应得到的PO选择性低于10%,这是由于丙烯比乙烯多出的甲基中的α-H受双键影响变得非常活泼,C?H键易断裂,导致丙烯容易发生完全氧化反应生成CO2.因此,研究报道采用不同助剂对Ag催化剂进行改性以提高Ag基催化剂的催化性能.我们在前期研究中制备了Ag-CuCl2/BaCO3催化剂,当CuCl2的负载量为0.036 wt%Cu和0.040 wt%Cl时,催化剂具有最优的催化性能,可以得到1.3%的丙烯转化率和71.2%的PO选择性.适量CuCl2的改性使得催化剂表面吸附分子氧物种,同时抑制原子氧物种的形成,从而提高PO选择性.但是CuCl2作为前驱体有一个不足之处,就是引入的Cu和Cl的比例是恒定的,不可调节.因此,我们以Cu(NO3)2和NH4Cl作为Cu和Cl的前驱体,采用还原-沉积-等体积浸渍法制备Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3催化剂,分别通过调节Cu和Cl的负载量来进一步提高Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3催化剂的催化性能,采用粉末X射线衍射(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和氧气程序升温脱附(O2-TPD)等表征手段来研究催化剂中Cu和Cl的作用.研究发现,Cl负载量的提高更容易导致大尺寸Ag颗粒的形成,而Cu负载量的提高对Ag颗粒尺寸影响不大.适当的Cl负载量可抑制氧气在催化剂表面解离吸附形成原子氧物种,从而抑制了丙烯的完全氧化,提高PO选择性.过高的Cl负载量会导致催化剂发生Cl中毒,从而降低了催化性能.适当的Cu负载量有利于丙烯气相环氧化反应生成PO,但当Cu负载量过高时容易导致Cu物种发生聚集,更多原子氧物种吸附于Ag颗粒表面,有利于丙烯完全氧化反应生成CO2,降低了PO选择性.适当的Cu和Cl负载量使得催化剂表面吸附的分子氧物种和原子氧物种达到平衡,有利于丙烯气相环氧化反应.当Cu和Cl负载量分别为0.036 wt%和0.060 wt%时,Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3催化剂具有最优的催化性能,在200℃,0.1 MPa,3000h-1反应条件下可得到1.2%的丙烯转化率和83.7%的PO选择性.

Gas-phase epoxidation of propylene by molecular oxygen over Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3 catalyst:Effects of Cu and Cl loadings

Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3 catalysts with different Cl and Cu loadings, prepared by the reduction deposition impregnation method, were investigated for gas-phase epoxidation of propylene by molecular oxy-gen and characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and O2 temperature programmed desorption. Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3 catalyst with 0.036 wt% Cu and 0.060 wt% Cl exhibited the highest catalytic performance for gas-phase epoxidation of propylene by molecular oxygen. A propylene oxide selectivity of 83.7% and propylene conversion of 1.2% were achieved under the reaction conditions of 20% C3H6-10% O2-70% N2, 200 ℃, 0.1 MPa and 3000 h–1. Increasing the Cl loading allowed Ag to ensemble easier, whereas changing the Cu loading showed little effect on Ag crystallite size. The appropriate Cl loading of Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3 catalyst can reduce the dissociation adsorption of oxygen to atomic oxygen species leading to the combustion of propylene to CO2, which benefits epoxidation of propylene by molecular oxygen. Excessive Cl loading of Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3 catalyst decreases propylene conversion and propylene oxide selectivity remarkably because of Cl poisoning. The appropriate Cu loading of Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3 catalyst is efficient for the epoxidation of propylene by molecular oxygen, and an excess Cu loading decreases propylene oxide selectivity because the aggregation of Cu species increases the exposed surfaces of Ag nanoparticles, which was shown by slight increases in atomic oxygen species adsorbed. The appropriate loadings of Cu and Cl of Ag-Cu-Cl/BaCO3 catalyst are important to strike the balance between molecular oxygen and atomic oxygen species to create a favorable epoxidation of propylene by molecular oxygen.