Gold catalysts supported on ZnO/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> for low-temperature CO oxidation

Gold catalysts with loadings ranging from 0.5 to 7.0 wt% on a ZnO/Al₂O₃ support were prepared by the deposition–precipitation method (Au/ZnO/Al₂O₃) with ammonium bicarbonate as the precipitation agent and were evaluated for performance in CO oxidation. These catalysts were characterized by inductively coupled plasma-atom emission spectrometry, temperature programmed reduction, and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The catalytic activity for CO oxidation was measured using a flow reactor under atmospheric pressure. Catalytic activity was found to be strongly dependent on the reduction property of oxygen adsorbed on the gold surface, which related to gold particle size. Higher catalytic activity was found when the gold particles had an average diameter of 3–5 nm; in this range, gold catalysts were more active than the Pt/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst in CO oxidation. Au/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst with small amount of ZnO is more active than Au/Al₂O₃ catalyst due to higher dispersion of gold particles.     

Characterization of nanosized ZnAl<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> spinel synthesized by the sol–gel method

Single-phase zinc aluminate (ZnAl₂O₄) nanoparticles with the spinel structure was successfully obtained by the sol–gel method. The nanoparticles are crystalline with no impurities related to ZnO or Al₂O₃ residues. The microstructural environment of aluminum ions changes with heat treatment temperature, as observed by FT-IR and also by ²⁷Al solid-state magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectra. The photoluminescence spectra show that the emission of pristine ZnAl₂O₄ may change depending on the calcining temperature due to the quantum size effect.     

Investigation of macro-/mesoporous Re<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>7</Subscript>/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> catalysts prepared by a particle-template method for butylene metathesis

Macro-/mesoporous Al₂O₃ supports were prepared by using monodisperse polystyrene (PS) microspheres as a template. The pore volume and BET surface area of the Al₂O₃ supports increased considerably with increasing amounts of the PS microspheres; further investigation showed that PS template only increased the volume of macro-pores but did not change the volume of meso-pores or micro-pores. Macro-/mesoporous Re₂O₇/Al₂O₃ metathesis catalysts were prepared through loading Re₂O₇ onto the as-prepared macro-/mesoporous Al₂O₃ supports, and their catalytic performance was tested in a fixed-bed tubular reactor using the metathesis of normal butylenes as a probe reaction. The results showed that the prepared macro-/mesoporous Re₂O₇/Al₂O₃ catalyst had high activity with consistent selectivity; propylene and pentene accounted for more than 90 wt% of the metathesis products, while the amount of ethylene plus hexane was less than 10 wt%, the majority of which was hexane. These Re₂O₇/Al₂O₃ catalysts had not only higher activity, but also longer working life span and higher tolerance to carbon residues than conventional Re₂O₇/Al₂O₃ catalysts.     

Trimetallic NiMoW/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> hydrotreating catalyst based on H<Subscript>4</Subscript>SiMo<Subscript>3</Subscript>W<Subscript>9</Subscript>O<Subscript>40</Subscript> mixed heteropoly acid

Trimetallic NiMoW/Al₂O₃ catalyst was prepared using mixed H₄SiMo₃W₉O₄₀ heteropoly acid of Keggin structure and nickel citrate. Bimetallic NiMo/Al₂O₃ and NiW/Al₂O₃ catalysts based on H₄SiMo₁₂O₄₀ and H₄SiW₁₂O₄₀, respectively, were synthesized as reference samples. The use of mixed H₄SiMo₃W₉O₄₀ heteropoly acid as an oxide precursor allows the tungsten sulfidation degree and the degree of promotion of active phase particles to be increased. The hydrodesulfurization activity is enhanced as compared to NiW/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The synergistic enhancement of the activity of the NiMo₃W₉/Al₂O₃ catalyst relative to the bimetallic analogs is probably caused by formation of new mixed promoted active sites for direct desulfurization.     

Co-Mo/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> and Ni-W/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> catalysts: Potential and prospects for use in hydrotreating of light cycle oil from catalytic cracking

Со-Мо/Al₂O₃ and Ni-W/Al₂O₃ catalysts were tested in hydrotreating of light cycle oil from catalytic cracking, of the straight-run gasoil, and of their mixture under typical hydrotreating conditions used in industry. The catalysts prepared using PMo₁₂ and PW₁₂ heteropoly acids exhibit high catalytic activity. The Со-Мо/Al₂O₃ catalyst is more active in hydrodesulfurization and hydrogenation of olefin and diene hydrocarbons, whereas the Ni-W/Al₂O₃ catalysts are more active in hydrogenation of mono- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Comparison of the quality characteristics of the hydrogenizates obtained with the requirements of the technical regulations shows that the required levels of the sulfur content and cetane number of the hydrogenizates at practically accessible process parameters can be reached for mixtures of the straight-run gasoil and light cycle oil from catalytic cracking with high content of the latter component only when the process with the Со-Мо/Al₂O₃ system and Ni-W/Al₂O₃ catalysts is performed in two steps.     

In situ synthesis of plate-like Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanoparticles in porous cellulose films with obvious magnetic anisotropy

Nanocomposite cellulose films with obvious magnetic anisotropy have been prepared by in situ synthesis of plate-like Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles in the cellulose matrix. The influence of the concentrations of FeCl₂ and FeCl₃ solutions on the morphology and particle size of the synthesized Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles as well as on the properties of the composite films has been investigated. The Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles synthesized in the cellulose matrix was γ-Fe₂O₃, and its morphology was plate-like with size about 48 nm and thickness about 9 nm, which was totally different from those reported works. The concentration of FeCl₂ and FeCl₃ solution has little influence on the particle size and morphology of the Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles, while the content of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles increased with the increase of the concentration of the precursor solution, indicating that porous structured cellulose matrix could modulate the growth of inorganic nanoparticles. The unique morphology of the Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles endowed the composite films with obvious magnetic anisotropy, which would expand the applications of the cellulose based nanomaterials.     

Photomineralization of phenol on Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>: synergistic photocatalysis by semiconductors

Phenol gets adsorbed on Al₂O₃ and mineralizes under UV light in the presence of dissolved O₂. The degradation exhibits first-order kinetics and its rate increases linearly with the light intensity and decreases with pH. 2,4-Diphenoxycyclohexanone and 2,6-diphenoxycyclohex-3-ene-1-ol are the intermediates of the reaction. While particulate TiO₂, ZnO, ZnS, Fe₂O₃, CuO, CdO, and Nb₂O₅ individually photocatalyze the degradation, each semiconductor exhibits synergistic photocatalysis, an enhanced photodegradation, when present along with Al₂O₃, indicating electron abstraction by illuminated semiconductors from the phenol adsorbed on Al₂O₃.     

Rational design of double-confined Mn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>/S@Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanocube cathodes for lithium-sulfur batteries

Due to the high specific capacities and environmental benignity, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have shown fascinating potential to replace the currently dominant Li-ion batteries to power portable electronics and electric vehicles. However, the shuttling effect caused by the dissolution of polysulfides seriously degrades their electrochemical performance. In this paper, Mn₂O₃ microcubes are fabricated to serve as the sulfur host, on top of which Al₂O₃ layers of 2 nm in thickness are deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD) to form Mn₂O₃/S (MOS) @Al₂O₃ composite electrodes. The MOS@Al₂O₃ electrode delivers an excellent initial capacity of 1012.1 mAh g^?1 and a capacity retention of 78.6% after 200 cycles at 0.5 C, and its coulombic efficiency reaches nearly 99%, giving rise to much better performance than the neat MOS electrode. These findings demonstrate the double confinement effect of the composite electrode in that both the porous Mn₂O₃ structure and the atomic Al₂O₃ layer serve as the spacious host and the protection layer of sulfur active materials, respectively, for significantly improved electrochemical performance of the Li-S battery.     

Liquid phase selective hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone over Ru/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> nanocatalyst under mild conditions

Highly monodispersed ruthenium nanoparticles were prepared via wet impregnation technique using RuCl₃ · nH₂O as a precursor. Ru nanoparticles were supported on Al₂O₃ to synthesize Ru nanocatalyst. The nanocatalyst was characterized by various techniques like XRD, SEM, TEM and BET analysis. The catalyst was used for hydrogenation of phenol under mild condition. The activity of the catalyst was checked by varying different parameters such as reaction temperature, time, H₂ partial pressure, metal loading and catalyst amount. The catalyst was recovered from product and reused up to four times without significant loss in its catalytic activity. After a reaction time of 1 h, Ru/Al₂O₃ nanocatalyst showed high reactivity (82% conversion) and selectivity to cyclohexanone (67%) at 80°C and 20 bar hydrogen pressure.     

Influence of ZnO coating on the structure,morphology and electrochemical performances for LiNi<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>Co<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> material

In this paper, ZnO was applied to modify the surface of LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ cathode material by a simple method. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that both of the pristine material and the modified material were well crystallized and closely similar to each other. The crystal parameters of pristine material increased by modified measure. Scan electron microscope (SEM) pictures exhibit that the quasispherical pristine material was modified to the squareness one. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image clearly elucidates that ZnO (several nanometers to 20 nm) was successful coated on surface of LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂. X-ray photo-electron spectrometry (XPS) is used to characterize the composite of the coating layer on the surface of modified material. Electrochemical performance results present that the ZnO coating layer decrease the initial capacities of LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ by increasing the surface layer resistances. However, the cycling performance of LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ was effectively improved by the ZnO coating layer.     

The use of thermal analysis in the study of Ca<Subscript>3</Subscript>Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>6</Subscript> formation by the polymeric precursor method

Single-phase Ca₃Al₂O₆ was prepared via polymeric precursor method. The influence of the reactants nature in the Ca₃Al₂O₆ synthesis was investigated. For this purpose, citric acid and soluble salts of calcium (nitrate, chloride, carbonate) and aluminium (nitrate, chloride, acetate) were used as starting materials, in the presence and, respectively, in the absence of ethylene glycol. Ca₃Al₂O₆ resulted as single-phase after annealing at 1050 °C for 1 h only starting from calcium nitrate or carbonate and aluminium nitrate or acetate as salts precursor for Ca²⁺ and Al³⁺ cations. The formation of Ca₃Al₂O₆ is not conditioned by the ethylene glycol presence in these mixtures. Using calcium and aluminium chlorides, the phases present at 1050 °C are Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃ and unreacted CaO.     

Studies on the synthesis of higher alcohol over modified Cu/ZnO/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> catalyst

Higher alcohol has been considered as a potential fuel additive. Higher alcohol, including C₂–C₄ alcohol was synthesized by catalytic conversion of syngas (with a ratio of CO/H₂?=?1) derived from natural gas over modified Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst. Modified Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalysts promoted by alkali metal (Li) for higher alcohol synthesis (HAS) were prepared at different pH (6, 6.5, 7, 8, and 9) by co-precipitation to control Cu surface area and characterized by N₂ physisorption, XRD, SEM, H₂-TPR and TPD. The HAS reaction was carried out under a pressure of 45 bar, GHSV of 4000 h^?1, ratio of H₂/CO?=?1, and temperature ranges of 240 and 280 °C. It was found that the malachite phase of copper causes the size of copper to be small, which is suitable for methanol synthesis. Methanol and HAS share a common catalytic active site and intermediate. It was also found that the productivity to higher alcohol was correlated with Cu surface area.     

Towards high-performance cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries: Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-coated LiNi<Subscript>0.8</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Zn<Subscript>0.05</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Zn-doped LiNi_0.8Co_0.2O₂ exhibits impressive electrochemical performance but suffers limited cycling stability due to the relative large size of irregular and bare particle which is prepared by conventional solid-state method usually requiring high calcination temperature and prolonged calcination time. Here, submicron LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Zn_0.05O₂ as cathode material for lithium-ion batteries is synthesized by a facile sol-gel method, which followed by coating Al₂O₃ layer of about 15 nm to enhance its electrochemistry performance. The as-prepared Al₂O₃-coated LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Zn_0.05O₂ cathode delivers a highly reversible capacity of 182 mA h g^?1 and 94% capacity retention after 100 cycles at a current rate of 0.5 C, which is much superior to that of bare LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Zn_0.05O₂ cathode. The enhanced electrochemistry performance can be attributed to the Al₂O₃-coated protective layer, which prevents the direct contact between the LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Zn_0.05O₂ and electrolyte. The escalating trend of Li-ion diffusion coefficient estimated form electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) also indicate the enhanced structural stability of Al₂O₃-coated LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Zn_0.05O₂, which rationally illuminates the protection mechanism of the Al₂O₃-coated layer.     

Permeation studies on transparent multiple hybrid SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-PMMA coatings-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> barriers on PEN substrates

In this work we report the performance of permeation barriers based on organic/inorganic multilayer stacks. We have used PMMA-SiO₂ (poly methyl methacrylate-silica) hybrid films synthesized through a sol–gel route as organic–inorganic components, whereas Al₂O₃ thin films were used as the inorganic component. The hybrid layers were deposited by dip coating and the Al₂O₃ by atomic layer deposition (ALD), films were prepared on polyethylene naphthalene (PEN) substrates. The permeability of the films and stacks is evaluated using helium as the diffusion gas in a custom made ultra-high vacuum system. The results show that permeability for PEN is reduced from 5 × 10⁻³ g/m²-day to about 9 × 10⁻⁵ g/m²-day for the best multiple barrier evaluated. Increased barrier properties are due to the increasing in the path and hence the lag-time of the permeating gas. In particular, we report the surface roughness of the different layers and its impact on the barrier performance. The hybrid layers reduced notably the roughness of the bare PEN substrate improving the quality of the Al₂O₃ layer in the barrier. The optical transmittance of the barriers in the visible region is higher than 80% in all the studied cases.     

ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> binary oxides as promising supports for palladium catalysts of hydrodechlorination

Deposited palladium catalysts of the hydrodechlorination of 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene were studied. Pure zirconium and aluminum oxides and ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ mixtures with 1, 5, and 10 mol % Al₂O₃ prepared by coprecipitation were used as supports. Palladium was deposited by the precipitation of its hydroxide on supports. Catalysts on binary supports (ZrO₂ + 1% Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ + 5% Al₂O₃) exhibited higher activity and stability in hydrodechlorination compared with catalysts on pure supports. The suggestion was made that the high activity and stability of these systems in hydrodechlorination was related to the formation of binary oxide in the interaction of ZrO₂ with palladium oxide at the stage of annealing of the catalyst precursor. Binary oxide, which was a center of the activation of the C-Cl bond, was simultaneously a source of active hydrogen. The presence of various palladium states in catalysts was substantiated by the temperature programmed reduction method.     

Effect of the alkoxides addition order on the properties of Pd/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> catalysts used for methane combustion

A series of Pd/Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ catalysts were prepared to be used in methane oxidation. The effect of the addition order of metal alkoxides on the texture, structure and catalytic properties of the solids is studied. The control of the preparation parameters is achieved via sol gel way as an attractive route of the preparation of these catalysts. N₂ physisorption, XRD, Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) and H₂ chemisorption are the main techniques used to characterize the prepared Pd/Al₂O₃–ZrO₂ catalysts. Textural analysis reveals the mesoporosity of all the catalysts independently of the addition order of alkoxides while surface area is more pronounced when the aluminium alkoxide is added before or with the zirconium precursor. XRD patterns show the development of the zirconia tetragonal phase for all the catalysts. Better metallic dispersion is obtained when aluminium alkoxide is added first which can be justified by the high homogeneity observed on the corresponding catalyst as revealed by SEM technique.     

Effect of cerium dioxide on the properties of monolithic CuO-ZnO-CeO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>/cordierite catalysts in methanol decomposition

Cerium dioxide as a component of CuO-ZnO-CeO₂/Al₂O₃/cordierite catalysts stabilizes their action in the decomposition of methanol by preventing carbon deposition on the surface and facilitating hydrogen formation with selectivity and yield in the range 85–96%. The optimal indices for this reaction are obtained for a CeO₂-CuO/Al₂O₃/cordierite sample prepared using an ammonium precursor for cerium, (NH₄)₂Ce(NO₃)₆. This catalyst displays enhanced reductive capacity relative to the analogous CeO₂-CuO composition prepared using Ce(NO₃)₃·6H₂O.     

PW based phase change nanocomposites containing <Emphasis Type="Italic">γ</Emphasis>-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>

Phase change nanocomposites were prepared by dispersing γ-Al₂O₃ nanoparticles into melting paraffin wax (PW). Intensive sonication was used to make well dispersed and homogeneous composites. Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) and transient short-hot-wire (SHW) method were employed to measure the thermal properties of the composites. The composites decreased the latent heat thermal energy storage capacity, L _s, and melting point, T _m, compared with those of the PW. Interestingly, the composites with low mass fraction of the nanoparticles, have higher latent heat capacity than the calculated latent heat capacity value. The thermal conductivity of the nanocomposites was enhanced and increased with the mass fraction of Al₂O₃ in both liquid state and solid state.     

Physicochemical study of composite gel in the Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> system

We show a feasibility of preparing a highly homogeneous composite gel (CG) based on hydrolysis products of Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ salts. The phase composition of a sample calcined at 1250°C for 2 h is as follows: α-Al₂O₃, t-ZrO₂, and m-ZrO₂ where the t-ZrO₂/m-ZrO₂ phase ratio ranges from 2.8 to 3.8 depending on gel preparation conditions. The investigative tools used are powder X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis (atmosphere: Ar), and IR spectroscopy.     

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.