TG Study of the Dispersion Threshold of Mn2O3 on γ-Al2O3

Mn₂O₃/-Al₂O₃ catalysts were prepared by the impregnation method, and the maximum monolayer dispersion capacity or dispersion threshold value of Mn₂O₃ on the surface of -Al₂O₃ was determined to be 13.08% from the decomposition mass loss of supported Mn(NO₃)₂ in the monolayer state. This was compared with the values estimated from a close-packed monolayer model and an interaction model. It was confirmed that the high activities and selectivities of the catalysts for benzoic acid hydrogenation to benzaldehyde are due to the monolayer dispersion of the Mn₂O₃ on the surface of -Al₂O₃.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A calorimetric adsorption study on the interaction of water with hydroxylated surface of γ-Al2O3

The curve for the differential heat of adsorption of water on γ aluminum oxide has parts related to the interaction of the adsorbed water molecules with surface molecules of coordinated water and with acid and basic hydroxyl groups. Estimates have been made of the effective charges and hydration numbers for three of these adsorption centers. Textural changes have been observed in the γ-Al₂O₃ particles related to interplate swelling in the secondary sorbent packets into which the primary particles are linked. A. V. Dumanskii Institute for Colloid and Water Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 42 Prospekt Akademika Vernadskogo, Kiev-142 03680, Ukraine. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 121–125, March–April, 2000.     

Modifying the functional cover of the γ-Al2O3 surface using organic salts of aluminum

A method is suggested for modifying the surface properties of alumina without changing its chemical composition. The sorption of aluminum complexes with organic acid ligands on the γ-Al₂O₃ surface is reported. The thermal decomposition of the adsorbed oxalate complexes yields supported aluminum oxide compounds on the surface of the initial support. This modifies the functional cover of the γ-Al₂O₃ surface, altering the proportions of different types of surface hydroxyl groups, reducing their total number, and lowering the concentration of weak Lewis acid sites.     

Surface reactions of dimethyl ether on γ-Al2O3

The surface reactions of dimethyl ether (DME) on industrial alumina (γ-Al₂O₃) were studied by chromatographic analysis of the products at the outlet of the flow reactor and (independently) by diffuse reflectance IR spectroscopy. The major products of the reactions at 250°С were found to be methanol formed in the reaction of DME with hydroxyl groups (the 3720 and 3674 cm^–1 bands in the diffuse reflectance spectrum) and various methoxy groups (the 1121, 1070, 695, and 670 cm^–1 bands in the differential spectra). The presence of molecularly adsorbed methanol was confirmed by experiments with methanol fed in a high-temperature IR cell. The interaction of the resulting methanol molecule with the hydroxyl group led to the formation of a water molecule in the gas phase and a methoxy group on the oxide surface. Strong adsorption of molecular DME was revealed, which was favored by an increase in the temperature of the preliminary calcination of oxide from 250 to 450–500°С; treatment of alumina with water vapor after its preliminary contact with DME led to a recovery of the hydroxyl coating and a replacement of molecularly adsorbed DME with hydroxyl. The thermal effect recorded in a flow reactor was positive during the adsorption of DME and negative during the desorption of weakly bonded DME. Schemes of formation of methoxy groups in the interaction of DME and methanol with surface hydroxyls were suggested.     

Effect of the Morphology of γ-Al2O3 Nanosized Particles on Their Adsorption Properties

Russian Journal of Physical Chemistry A - γ-Al2O3 porous nanostructures with different morphologies are prepared from an aluminitride nanopowder (obtained by electric explosion) by treatment...     

Role of surface spins on magnetization of Cr2O3 coated γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles

Effect of surface spins in chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃) coated maghemite (γ-Fe₂O₃) nanoparticles (13 nm) as prepared by microwave plasma technique have been studied in detail. The temperature dependent zero field cooled/field cooled (ZFC/FC) measurements revealed the blocking temperature at T_B = 75 K. Simulated ZFC/FC curves exhibited large value of effective anisotropy of Cr₂O₃ coated γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles as compared to bulk γ-Fe₂O₃ but less than bare γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles. Bloch's law was fitted on M_S-T data and revealed the values of Bloch's constant B = 3.523 × 10⁻⁴ K^−b and Bloch's exponent b = 1.10. The higher value of B than in bulk is due to weaker exchange coupling J (B ̴ 1/J) on the surface of nanoparticle due to disorder surface spins, while lower value of b is due to no spin wave excitation in presence of large energy band gap at nanoscale. Kneller's law fit on H_C-T data deviated in all temperature range which is due to strong surface anisotropy, core-shell interactions and superparamagnetism. Interparticle interactions and spin glass behavior were investigated by using different physical laws for f-dependent ac susceptibility and they confirmed the presence of spin glass behavior which is due to disordered frozen surface spins and random interparticle interactions.     

Adsorption of chlorobenzene and benzene on γ-Al2O3/atl>

Adsorption of chlorobenzene and benzene on -Al₂O₃ was investigated in the 413--572 K temperature region at an adsorbate partial pressure ranging from 2 to 1000 Pa. The adsorption isotherms were measured and the isosteric heats and the entropy characteristics of adsorption were determined. The experimentally found and theoretically calculated entropy changes upon adsorption were compared. The mobility of the molecules of both adsorbates in the adsorption layer was limited with respect to that predicted by the ideal two-dimensional gas model. The mechanism of adsorption of benzene and chlorobenzene is discussed.     

Assessing the Effect of Dopants on the C−H Activation Activity of γ-Al2O3 using First-Principles Calculations

In recent years, the high availability of methane in the shale gas reserves has raised significant interest in its conversion to high-value chemicals but this process is still not commercially viable. Metal oxides, due to their surface heterogeneity and the presence of Lewis acidic and basic site pairs are known to facilitate the activation of C−H bonds of methane. In this work, we investigate the C−H bond activation of methane on pristine and doped γ-Al₂O₃ clusters using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our results demonstrate that the polar pathway is energetically preferred over the radical pathway on these systems. We found that the metal dopants (boron and gallium) not only alter the catalytic activity of dopant sites but this effect is more pronounced on some of the adjacent sites (non-local). Among the selected dopants, gallium greatly improves the catalytic activity on most of the site pairs (including most active and least active) of pristine γ-Al₂O₃. Additionally, we identified a correlation between H₂ binding energies and the C−H activation free energies on Ga-doped γ-Al₂O₃.     

Ammonia Decomposition over Bimetallic Nitrides Supported on γ-Al2O3

A series of monometallic nitrides and bimetallic nit-rides were prepared by temperature-programmed reaction with NH3. The effects of Co, Ni and Fe additives and the synergic action between Fe, Co, Ni and Mo on the ammonia decomposition activity were investigated. TPR-MS, XRD were also carded out to obtain better insight into the structure of the bimetallic nitride. The results of ammonia decomposition activity show that bimetallic nitrides are more active than monometallic nitrides or bimetallic oxides.     

Adsorption of benzene on the V2O5/γ-Al2O3 catalyst

Adsorption of benzene on the V₂O₅/-Al₂O₃ catalysts was studied in the temperature interval from 443 to 493 K and at partial pressures of the adsorbate ranging from 1 to 400 Pa. The adsorption isotherms were plotted. The isosteric heats and various entropy characteristics of adsorption were determined. Mobility of benzene in the adsorption layer is restricted compared to the model of ideal dimeric gas. The adsorbed amounts of benzene and chlorobenzene are compared.     

Adsorption of Chlorobenzene on γ-Al2O3 Obtained by Calcination of Boehmite at Various Temperatures

The influence exerted by the temperature of boehmite calcination in air within the range 450-600°C on the adsorption properties of the resulting -Al₂O₃ with respect to chlorobenzene was studied.     

Chemical Modification of γ-Al2O3 Surface with Aryl Silanes

The effect of main factors (the nature and functionality of a modifier, the presence of water) on the chemical modification of -Al₂O₃ surface with aryl silanes was studied by an FTIR spectroscopy and elemental analysis.     

Heterogeneous reaction of acetic acid on MgO, α-Al2O3, and CaCO3 and the effect on the hygroscopic behaviour of these particles

Mixtures of organic compounds with mineral dust are ubiquitous in the atmosphere, whereas the formation pathways and hygroscopic behavior of these mixtures are not well understood. In this study, in situ DRIFTS, XRD, and a vapor sorption analyzer were used to investigate the heterogeneous reaction of acetic acid on α-Al(2)O(3), MgO, and CaCO(3) particles under both dry and humid conditions while the effect of reactions on the hygroscopic behavior of these particles was also measured. In all cases, formation of acetate is significantly enhanced in the presence of surface water. However, the reaction extent varied with the mineral phase of these particles. For α-Al(2)O(3), the reaction is limited to the surface with the formation of surface coordinated acetate under both dry and humid conditions. For MgO, the bulk of the particle is involved in the reaction and Mg(CH(3)COO)(2) is formed under both dry and humid conditions, although it exhibits a saturation effect under dry conditions. In the case of CaCO(3), acetic acid uptake is limited to the surface under dry conditions while it leads to the decomposition of the bulk of CaCO(3) under humid conditions. While coordinated surface acetate species increased the water adsorption capacity slightly, the formation of bulk acetate promoted the water absorption capacity greatly. This study demonstrated that heterogeneous reaction between CH(3)COOH and mineral dust is not only an important sink for CH(3)COOH, but also has a significant effect on the hygroscopic behavior of mineral dust.     

Regioselective Synthesis of 1,5-Disubstituted 1,2,3-Triazoles by Reusable AlCl3 Immobilized on γ-Al2O3

There is rapidly growing interest in the synthesis and use of substituted 1,2,3-triazoles. We report an easy and interesting procedure that demonstrates the effectiveness of surface-modified γ-Al₂O₃, which is reusable, efficient, catalytic, safe, and environmentally acceptable for the regioselective synthesis of 1,5-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles via [3 + 2] cycloaddition of phenyl and benzyl azides with a series of aryl nitroolefins in good yields. No adverse effect on substituents such as nitro, cyano, hydroxy, ether linkage, and halogens was observed. The catalyst could easily be recycled and was reused for nine runs without losing its activity.     

The influence of γ-rays irradiation on the structure and crystallinity of heteropoly acid doped PVA

This contribution represents the manufacturing of a hybrid organic–inorganic proton conducting compound, which involves the introduction of heteropoly acid (HPA) of different concentrations into poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA). These compounds were irradiated by γ-rays at different doses of 10, 20, 30, and 40 kGy. The unirradiated and irradiated compounds were characterized by XRD and DSC. The XRD results showed that the crystallinity and d-spacing were strongly influenced by the amount of HPA and irradiation doses. The DSC results showed that the melting point was decreased as a result of HPA concentration and irradiation doses. The degree of crystallinity calculated from XRD is in good agreement with that calculated from DSC. The activation energy of the Unirradiated and irradiated compounds was calculated using the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa model.     

Adsorption of proteins on γ-Fe2O3 and γ-Fe2O3/SiO2 magnetic materials

Russian Journal of Physical Chemistry A - γ-Fe2O3–SiO2 composites are synthesized via the coprecipitation of a γ-Fe2O3 magnetic carrier (with specific surface S = 17 m2/g and pore...     

The Role of Lewis Acid Sites in γ-Al2O3 Oligomerization

Olefin oligomerization by γ-Al₂O₃ has recently been reported, and it was suggested that Lewis acid sites are catalytic. The goal of this study is to determine the number of active sites per gram of alumina to confirm that Lewis acid sites are indeed catalytic. Addition of an inorganic Sr oxide base resulted in a linear decrease in the propylene oligomerization conversion at loadings up to 0.3 wt %; while, there is a >95 % loss in conversion above 1 wt % Sr. Additionally, there was a linear decrease in the intensity of the Lewis acid peaks of absorbed pyridine in the IR spectra with an increase in Sr loading, which correlates with the loss in propylene conversion, suggesting that Lewis acid sites are catalytic. Characterization of the Sr structure by XAS and STEM indicates that single Sr²⁺ ions are bound to the γ-Al₂O₃ surface and poison one catalytic site per Sr ion. The maximum loading needed to poison all catalytic sites, assuming uniform surface coverage, was ∼0.4 wt % Sr, giving an acid site density of ∼0.2 sites per nm² of γ-Al₂O₃, or approximately 3 % of the alumina surface.