Quantum chemical study of mechanisms for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane on vanadium oxide

We have carried out a hybrid density functional study of mechanisms for oxidative dehydrogenation of propane on the (010) surface of V2O5. The surface was modeled using both vanadium oxide clusters and a periodic slab. We have investigated a Mars-van Krevelen mechanism that involves stepwise adsorption of the propane at an oxygen site followed by desorption of a water molecule and propene, and subsequent adsorption of an oxygen molecule to complete the catalytic cycle. The potential energy surface is found to have large barriers, which are lowered somewhat when the possibility of a triplet state is considered. The barriers for propane adsorption and propene elimination are 45-60 kcal/mol. The highest energy on the potential energy surface at the B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory is about 80 kcal/mol above the energy of the reactants and corresponds to formation of an oxygen vacancy after water elimination. Subsequent addition of an oxygen molecule to fill the vacancy is predicted to be energetically downhill. The reactions of propane at a bridging oxygen site and at a vanadyl site have similar energetics. The key results of the cluster calculations are confirmed by periodic calculations. Factors that may lower the barriers on the potential energy surface, including the interaction of vanadium oxide clusters with a support material and a concerted reaction with O2, are discussed.     

Reactivity of V2O3(0001) surfaces: molecular vs dissociative adsorption of water

The adsorption of water on V2O3(0001) surfaces has been investigated by thermal desorption spectroscopy, high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with use of synchrotron radiation. The V2O3(0001) surfaces have been generated in epitaxial thin film form on a Rh(111) substrate with three different surface terminations according to the particular preparation conditions. The stable surface in thermodynamic equilibrium with the bulk is formed by a vanadyl (VO) (1x1) surface layer, but an oxygen-rich (radical3xradical3)R30 degrees reconstruction can be prepared under a higher chemical potential of oxygen (microO), whereas a V-terminated surface consisting of a vanadium surface layer requires a low microO, which can be achieved experimentally by the deposition of V atoms onto the (1x1) VO surface. The latter two surfaces have been used to model, in a controlled way, oxygen and vanadium containing defect centres on V2O3. On the (1x1) V=O and (radical3xradical3)R30 degrees surfaces, which expose only oxygen surface sites, the experimental results indicate consistently that the molecular adsorption of water provides the predominant adsorption channel. In contrast, on the V-terminated (1/radical3x1/radical3)R30 degrees surface the dissociation of water and the formation of surface hydroxyl species at 100 K is readily observed. Besides the dissociative adsorption a molecular adsorption channel exists also on the V-terminated V2O3(0001) surface, so that the water monolayer consists of both OH and molecular H2O species. The V surface layer on V2O3 is very reactive and is reoxidised by adsorbed water at 250 K, yielding surface vanadyl species. The results of this study indicate that V surface centres are necessary for the dissociation of water on V2O3 surfaces.     

Gas Phase Selective Catalytic Oxidation of Toluene to Benzaldehyde on V2O5-Ag2O／η-Al2O3 Catalyst

Gas phase selective catalytic oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde was studied on V2O5-Ag2O/η-Al2O3 catalyst prepared by impregnation. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, XPS, TEM,and FT-IR. The catalytic results showed that toluene conversion and selectivity for benzaldehyde on catalyst sample No.4 (V/(V Ag)=0.68) was higher than other catalysts with different V/Ag ratios. This was attributed to the higher surface area, larger pore volume and pore diameter of the catalyst sample No.4 than the other catalysts. The XRD patterns recorded from the catalyst before and after the oxidation reaction revealed that the new phases were developed, and this suggested that silver had entered the vanadium lattice. XPS results showed that the vanadium on the surface of No.4 and No.5 sample was more than that in the bulk, thus forming a vanadium rich layer on the surface. It was noted that when the catalyst was doped by potassium promoter, the toluene conversion and selectivity for benzalde hydewere higher than those on the undoped catalyst. This was attributed to the disordered structure of V2O5 lattice of the K-doped catalyst and a better interfacial contact between the particles.     

Gas Phase Selective Catalytic Oxidation of Toluene to Benzaldehyde on V2O5-Ag2O/η-Al2O3 Catalyst

Gas phase selective catalytic oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde was studied on V2O5-Ag2O/η-Al2O3 catalyst prepared by impregnation. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, XPS, TEM,and FT-IR. The catalytic results showed that toluene conversion and selectivity for benzaldehyde on catalyst sample No.4 (V/(V Ag)=0.68) was higher than other catalysts with different V/Ag ratios. This was attributed to the higher surface area, larger pore volume and pore diameter of the catalyst sample No.4 than the other catalysts. The XRD patterns recorded from the catalyst before and after the oxidation reaction revealed that the new phases were developed, and this suggested that silver had entered the vanadium lattice. XPS results showed that the vanadium on the surface of No.4 and No.5 sample was more than that in the bulk, thus forming a vanadium rich layer on the surface. It was noted that when the catalyst was doped by potassium promoter, the toluene conversion and selectivity for benzaldehyde were higher than those on the undoped catalyst. This was attributed to the disordered structure of V2O5 lattice of the K-doped catalyst and a better interfacial contact between the particles.     

Vanadium oxides on aluminum oxide supports. 1. Surface termination and reducibility of vanadia films on alpha-Al2O3(0001)

Using density functional theory and statistical thermodynamics, we obtained the phase diagram of thin VnOm films of varying thickness (approximately 2-6 A, 1-6 vanadium layers) supported on alpha-Al2O3(0001). Depending on the temperature, oxygen pressure, and vanadium concentration, films with different thickness and termination may form. In ultrahigh vacuum (UHV), at room temperature and for low vanadium concentrations, an ultrathin (1 x 1) O=V-terminated film is most stable. As more vanadium is supplied, the thickest possible films form. Their structures and terminations correspond to previous findings for the (0001) surface of bulk V2O3 [Kresse et al., Surf. Sci. 2004, 555, 118]. The presence of surface vanadyl (O=V) groups is a prevalent feature. They are stable up to at least 800 K in UHV. Vanadyl oxygen atoms induce a V(2p) core-level shift of about 2 eV on the surface V atoms. The reducibility of the supported films is characterized by the energy of oxygen defect formation. For the stable structures, the results vary between 4.11 and 3.59 eV per 1/2O2. In contrast, oxygen removal from the V2O5(001) surface is much easier (1.93 eV). This provides a possible explanation for the lower catalytic activity of vanadium oxides supported on alumina compared to that of crystalline vanadia particles.     

锰—铈复合氧化物催化剂表面氧的性质

氧化锰催化剂广泛用于一氧化碳常温氧化及汽车尾气的净化等,CeO_2是氧化物催化剂的优良助剂。非贵金属催化剂中添加CeO_2能提高催化剂的氧化活性已有很多报道,但有关Ce对氧化锰结构及表面氧脱附性能影响的研究尚不多见。本文运用XRD、DTA和TPD-MS等手段对共沉淀法制得的Mn-Ce复合氧化物进行了物相结构和脱氧活性研究。     

Catalytic oxidation activity of Pt3O4 surfaces and thin films

The catalytic oxidation activity of platinum particles in automobile catalysts is thought to originate from the presence of highly reactive superficial oxide phases which form under oxygen-rich reaction conditions. Here we study the thermodynamic stability of platinum oxide surfaces and thin films and their reactivities toward oxidation of carbon compounds by means of first-principles atomistic thermodynamics calculations and molecular dynamics simulations based on density functional theory. On the Pt(111) surface the most stable superficial oxide phase is found to be a thin layer of alpha-PtO2, which appears not to be reactive toward either methane dissociation or carbon monoxide oxidation. A PtO-like structure is most stable on the Pt(100) surface at oxygen coverages of one monolayer, while the formation of a coherent and stress-free Pt3O4 film is favored at higher coverages. Bulk Pt3O4 is found to be thermodynamically stable in a region around 900 K at atmospheric pressure. The computed net driving force for the dissociation of methane on the Pt3O4(100) surface is much larger than that on all other metallic and oxide surfaces investigated. Moreover, the enthalpy barrier for the adsorption of CO molecules on oxygen atoms of this surface is as low as 0.34 eV, and desorption of CO2 is observed to occur without any appreciable energy barrier in molecular dynamics simulations. These results, combined, indicate a high catalytic oxidation activity of Pt3O4 phases that can be relevant in the contexts of Pt-based automobile catalysts and gas sensors.     

表面修饰的钒氧化物纳米带上甲苯选择氧化反应

采用声化学水热法制备了V₂O₅纳米带,并将十六烷基膦酸负载在它和块状V₂O₅表面上,以修饰催化剂表面,通过调变催化剂中晶格氧活动性以及表面酸碱性来控制其催化甲苯氧化产物的选择性.结果表明,V₂O₅纳米带具有较强的晶格氧活动性,与普通块状V₂O₅相比,甲苯转化率更高,但苯甲醛和苯甲酸的总选择性下降.经过表面修饰后,V₂O₅纳米带的催化活性以及苯甲醛、苯甲酸总选择性增加;而块状V₂O₅上苯甲醛、苯甲酸总选择性更高,但催化活性显著下降.     

Electron-stimulated sputtering of thin amorphous solid water films on Pt(111)

The electron-stimulated sputtering of thin amorphous solid water films deposited on Pt(111) is investigated. The sputtering appears to be dominated by two processes: (1) electron-stimulated desorption of water molecules and (2) electron-stimulated reactions leading to the production of molecular hydrogen and molecular oxygen. The electron-stimulated desorption of water increases monotonically with increasing film thickness. In contrast, the total sputtering--which includes all electron-stimulated reaction channels--is maximized for films of intermediate thickness. The sputtering yield versus thickness indicates that erosion of the film occurs due to reactions at both the water/vacuum interface and the Pt/water interface. Experiments with layered films of D2O and H2O demonstrate significant loss of hydrogen due to reactions at the Pt/water interface. The electron-stimulated sputtering is independent of temperature below approximately 80 K and increases rapidly at higher temperatures.     

Highly wettable films plasma-polymerized from ethylene oxide

Highly wettable films were prepared by plasma-polymerization from ethylene oxide. The surface energy of the formed films is 65.6 dyn/cm, and the contact-angle of water on the films is 12 degrees. The formation of highly wettable films is limited to the plasma-polymerization conducted at low W/FM values of below 200 MJ/kg. Analyses by infrared spectroscopy and ESCA show that the formed films contain much oxygen residues such as C? O, C? O, and C(O)? O? groups. Such polar groups would contribute high wettability of the plasma-films from ethylene oxide.     

Initial oxidation of a Rh(110) surface using atomic or molecular oxygen and reduction of the surface oxide by hydrogen

The formation conditions, morphology, and reactivity of thin oxide films, grown on a Rh(110) surface in the ambient of atomic or molecular oxygen, have been studied by means of laterally resolved core level spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction. Exposures of Rh(110) to atomic oxygen lead to subsurface incorporation of oxygen even at room temperature and facile formation of an ordered, laterally uniform surface oxide at approximately 520 K, with a quasi-hexagonal structure and stoichiometry close to that of RhO(2). In the intermediate oxidation stages, the surface oxide coexists with areas of high coverage adsorption phases. After a long induction period, the reduction of the Rh oxide film with H(2) is very rapid and independent of the coexisting adsorption phases. The growth of the oxide film by exposure of a Rh(110) surface to molecular oxygen requires higher pressures and temperatures. The important role of the O(2) dissociation step in the oxidation process is reflected by the complex morphology of the oxide films grown in O(2) ambient, consisting of microscopic patches of different Rh and oxygen atomic density.     

Vanadium oxide surface studies

The vanadium oxides can exist in a range of single and mixed valencies with a large variety of structures. The large diversity of physical and chemical properties that they can thus possess make them technologically important and a rich ground for basic research. Here we assess the present status of the microscopic understanding of the physico-chemical properties of vanadium oxide surfaces. The discussion is restricted to atomically well-defined systems as probed by surface techniques. Following a brief review of the properties of the bulk oxides the electronic and geometric structure of their clean single crystal surfaces and adsorption studies, probing their chemical reactivity, are considered. The review then focuses on the growth and the surface properties of vanadium oxide thin films. This is partitioned into films grown on oxide substrates and those on metal substrates. The interest in the former derives from their importance as supported metal oxide catalysts and the need to understand the two-dimensional overlayer of the so-called “monolayer” catalyst. On the single crystal metal substrates thin oxide layers with high structural order and interesting properties can be prepared. Particular attention is given to ultrathin vanadium oxide layers, so-called nano-layers, where novel phases, stabilised by the substrate, form.     

Vanadium Nitride Films Formed by Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP): Depth Profiles and Interface Reactions Studied by Complementary Analytical Techniques

The nitridation of vanadium films in molecular nitrogen and ammonia using a RTP‐system was investigated. The V films were deposited on silicon substrates covered by 100 nm thermal SiO₂. For a few experiments sapphire substrates were used. Nitride formation at high temperatures (900 and 1100 °C) and interface reactions and diffusion of oxygen out of the SiO₂‐layer into the metal lattice at moderate temperatures (600 and 700 °C) were studied. For characterisation complementary analytical methods were used: X‐ray diffraction (XRD) for phase analysis, secondary neutral mass spectrometry (SNMS) and Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) for acquisition of depth profiles of V, N, O, C and Si, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in combination with electron energy filtering for imaging element distributions (EFTEM) and recording electron energy loss spectra (EELS) to obtain detailed information about the initial stages of nitride, oxide and oxynitride formation, respectively, and the microstructure and element distributions of the films. In these experiments the SiO₂‐layer acts as diffusion barrier for nitrogen and source for oxygen causing the formation of substoichiometric vanadium oxides and oxynitrides near the V/SiO₂‐interface primarily at temperatures ≤ 900 °C. At a temperature of 1100 °C just a small amount of oxynitride forms near the interface because rapid diffusion of nitrogen and fast formation of VN (diffusion barrier for oxygen) inhibit the outdiffusion of oxygen into the metal layer. In the 600 °C regime, in argon atmosphere oxynitride phases observed in the surface region of these films originate from reaction of residual oxygen in the argon gas, whereas NH₃ as process gas does not lead to oxide or oxynitride formation at the surface (apart from the oxidation caused by storage). NH₃ seems to support the diffusion of oxygen out of the SiO₂‐layer. During the decomposition of ammonia at higher temperatures hydrogen is formed, which could attack the SiO₂. In contrast, sapphire substrates do not act as oxygen source in the 600 °C regime and change the nitridation behaviour of the vanadium films.     

Manipulating the activation barrier for H2(D2) desorption from potassium-modified palladium surfaces

In this work the permeation and desorption of hydrogen (deuterium) from potassium-modified Pd(111) and polycrystalline palladium surfaces have been studied in the temperature range from 350 to 523 K. Time-of-flight spectroscopy has been used to determine the translational energy distributions of associatively desorbing H(2)(D(2)) molecules as a function of the potassium coverage and additional isotropic O(2) and CO background pressures. It turned out that the energy distribution of the hydrogen desorption flux is thermalized for the clean Pd surfaces but hyperthermal for the potassium-covered surfaces. The activation barrier for adsorption was found to increase with the potassium coverage but to decrease again in the presence of coadsorbates such as O(2) or CO. Especially by choosing different isotropic CO pressures, the effective desorption barrier for hydrogen could be reversibly decreased and increased, which resulted in the equivalent changes of the mean kinetic energies of the desorbing H(2) molecules.     

Rh-V alloy formation in Rh-VOx thin films after high-temperature reduction studied by electron microscopy

Rh nanoparticles (mean size 10 and 15 nm), prepared by epitaxial growth on NaCl surfaces, were covered with layers of crystalline vanadium oxide (mean thickness 1.5 and 25 nm) by reactive deposition in 10(-2) mbar O2. The 1.5 nm film was further stabilized with a coating layer of 25 nm amorphous alumina. The so-obtained Rh/vanadia films, containing vanadium in the V3+ and V2+ state, were treated in 1 bar O2 at 673 K for 1 h and thereafter reduced in 1 bar H2 at increased temperatures, particularly between 723 and 873 K. The structural and morphological changes were followed by (high-resolution) transmission electron microscopy and selected area diffraction. Oxidation at 673 K transforms the purely vanadia-supported samples into Rh/V2O5, while in the alumina-supported films containing only small amounts of VOx, the formation of topotactic V2O3 is observed. The formation of Rh-V alloys during the subsequent reduction is strongly determined by the intimate contact and the structural and orientational relationship between Rh particles and the surrounding VOx phase. Reduction above 473 K transforms the support into substoichiometric vanadium oxides of composition VO and V2O. Analysis of high-resolution images and diffraction patterns reveals the presence of different alloy phases after reduction with increasing T (from 573 up to 823 K). In the alumina-supported film (low V/Rh ratio) the epitaxial alignment between the Rh particles and the surrounding V2O3 phase apparently favours the primary formation of defined alloys of type V3Rh and VRh3, followed by VRh at higher temperature. On the contrary, mainly V3Rh5 is formed in the purely VOx-supported Rh/films, due to different epitaxial relations in the initial state. Possible pathways of alloy formation are discussed.     

Promoter effect of BaO on CO oxidation on PdO surfaces

The effect of bulk BaO promoter on CO oxidation activity of palladium oxide phase was studied by density functional calculations. A series of BaO(100) supported Pd(x)O(y) thin layer models were constructed, and energy profiles for CO oxidation on the films were calculated and compared with corresponding profiles for the most stable PdO bulk surfaces PdO(100) and PdO(101). The most stable of the thin films typically exhibit the same PdO(100) and PdO(101) surface planes; the PdO(100) dominates already with double layer thickness. The supporting promoter improves the CO oxidation activity of the Pd(x)O(y) phase via a direct electronic effect and introduced structural strain and corrugation. Changes in CO adsorption strength are reflected in oxidation energy barriers, and the promoting effect of even 0.3 eV can be seen locally. Easier oxygen vacancy formation may partially facilitate the reaction.     

Site-dependent electron-stimulated reactions in water films on TiO2(110)

Electron-stimulated reactions in thin [<3 ML (monolayer)] water films adsorbed on TiO(2)(110) are investigated. Irradiation with 100 eV electrons results in electron-stimulated dissociation and electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) of adsorbed water molecules. The molecular water ESD yield increases linearly with water coverage theta for 0< or =theta< or =1 ML and 11 ML, the water ESD yield per additional water molecule adsorbed (i.e., the slope of the ESD yield versus coverage) is 3.5 times larger than for theta<1 ML. In contrast, the number of water molecules dissociated per incident electron increases linearly for theta< or =2 ML without changing slope at theta=1 ML. The total electron-stimulated sputtering rate, as measured by postirradiation temperature programmed desorption of the remaining water, is larger for theta>1 ML due to the increased water ESD for those coverages. The water ESD yields versus electron energy (for 5-50 eV) are qualitatively similar for 1, 2, and 40 ML water films. In each case, the observed ESD threshold is at approximately 10 eV and the yield increases monotonically with increasing electron energy. The results indicate that excitations in the adsorbed water layer are primarily responsible for the ESD in thin water films on TiO(2)(110). Experiments on "isotopically layered" films with D(2)O adsorbed on the Ti(4+) sites (D(2)O(Ti)) and H(2)O adsorbed on the bridging oxygen atoms (H(2)O(BBO)) demonstrate that increasing the water coverage above 1 ML rapidly suppresses the electron-stimulated desorption of D(2)O(Ti) and D atoms, despite the fact that the total water ESD and atomic hydrogen ESD yields increase with increasing coverage. The coverage dependence of the electron-stimulated reactions is probably related to the different bonding geometries for H(2)O(Ti) and H(2)O(BBO) and its influence on the desorption probability of the reaction products.     

VPO催化剂的再生性质及其对晶格氧选择氧化丙烷的影响

采用脉冲反应器,研究了ＶＰＯ催化剂的再生性质及其对晶格氧选择氧化丙烷制丙烯酸和乙酸的影响,结果表明,ＶＰＯ催化剂与气相分子氧反应的速度要比丙烷与其 和氧反应的速度慢许多,因此以丙烷－Ｏ２共进料方式进行反应时,催化剂氧化再生是速度控制步骤,水是影响催化剂选择性的重要因素,但对活性影响不大,在反应温度下,水在ＶＰＯ催化剂 为可逆吸附,容易脱附流失,催化丙烷反应生成目的的产物的活性中心很稳定,主要是晶格     

Interactions of O(2) with Pd nanoparticles on alpha-Al(2)O(3)(0001) at low and high O(2) pressures

The interaction of O(2) with small Pd particles (2-10 nm) supported on an alpha-Al(2)O(3)(0001) single crystal under both ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) and high-pressure conditions has been studied by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), temperature-programmed low-energy ion scattering (TP-LEIS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A low O(2) exposure (30 L) at 500 K leads to surface oxygen adatoms on the Pd nanoparticles, which desorb in TPD as O(2) in a peak at approximately 880 K. Surface O adatoms on the smallest Pd particles move to subsurface sites starting at 400 K, and they almost all move subsurface by approximately 750 K, desorbing mainly at considerably higher temperature. The dominant oxygen species above 700 K is subsurface, implying that it is more stable than oxygen adatoms on Pd. Exposures of the Pd nanoparticles to 25 Torr O(2) at 373-473 K readily convert the Pd to a species whose Pd XPS peak shifts by the same amount as the binding energy difference between bulk Pd and bulk PdO. We attribute this to PdO nanoparticles (or a thin film of PdO on or under the Pd for the larger particles). The decomposition of the PdO on these nanoparticles to Pd in an equilibrium O(2) pressure of 10-7 Torr does not occur until approximately 750 K, or approximately 200 K higher than the equilibrium decomposition of bulk PdO. This is attributed to the higher energy of Pd nanoparticles compared to bulk Pd and, for the larger particles, to the adhesion energy of the PdO film to the Pd, both of which stabilize the PdO on these Pd nanoparticles relative to bulk PdO. This PdO-like film on the larger particles may be similar to the ordered oxide thin film previously reported to form on Pd(111) but may also reside at the alpha-Al(2)O(3) interface and be partially stabilized by adhesion to this interface.     

Reaction of molecular and atomic deuterium with methanol on Pd(111)

Multiplexed thermal desorption spectroscopy was used to study the influence of preadsorbed and postadsorbed deuterium on a methanol monolayer on Pd(111). In particular, the effect of atomic deuterium exposure on the reaction products was examined in detail. Preadsorbed deuterium hinders the formation of chemisorbed methanol and favors physisorption of methanol. This leads to a strong reduction of methanol dehydrogenation during sample heating. Postadsorption of molecular deuterium also changes partially chemisorbed to physisorbed methanol. No deuteration of methanol is found under these conditions. With atomic deuterium exposure, however, significant amounts of deuterated methanol, from methanol-D1 through methanol-D4, can be produced. In addition, D exposure also causes an increased dehydrogenation probability during sample heating. The probabilities for methanol deuteration, for methanol dehydrogenation, and for D-atom bulk absorption have been determined quantitatively.