Effect of metals on the catalytic activity of sulfated zirconia for light naphtha isomerization

We studied on the function of the metal in the sulfated zirconia(SO₄^2–/ZrO₂) catalyst for the isomerization reaction of light paraffins. The addition of Pt to the SO₄^2–/ZrO₂ carrier could keep the high catalytic activity. The improvement in this isomerization activity is because Pt promotes removal of the coke precursor deposited on the catalyst surface. Though this catalytic function was observed in other transition metals, such as Pd, Ru, Ni, Rh and W, Pt exhibited the highest effect among them. It was further found that the Pd/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst possessed a catalytic function for desulfurization of sulfur-containing light naphtha in addition to the skeletal isomerization. The sulfur tolerance of catalyst depended on the method of adding Pd, and the catalyst prepared by impregnation of the SO₄^2–/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ with an aqueous solution of Pd exhibited the highest sulfur tolerance.Further, we investigated the improvement in sulfur tolerance of the Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst by impregnation of Pd. The results of EPMA analysis indicated that this catalyst was a hybrid-type one (Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂–Pd/Al₂O₃) in which Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂ particles and Pd/Al₂O₃ particles adjoined closely. This hybrid catalyst possessed a very high sulfur tolerance to the raw light naphtha that was obtained from the atmospheric distillation apparatus, although this light naphtha contained much sulfur. We assume that such a high sulfur tolerance in the hybrid catalyst is brought about by the isomerization function of Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂ particles and the hydrodesulfurization function of Pd/Al₂O₃ particles. Besides, since the hybrid catalyst also provides high catalytic activity in the isomerization of HDS light naphtha, we suggest that the Pd/Al₂O₃ particles supply atomic hydrogen to the Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂ particles by homolytic dissociation of gaseous hydrogen and also enhance the sulfur tolerance of Pt/SO₄^2–/ZrO₂ particles. Finally, we also propose the most suitable location of Pd and Pt in the metal-supported SO₄^2–/ZrO₂–Al₂O₃ catalyst.     

Comparison of the promoting effects of gallium and aluminium on the n-butane isomerization actvity of sulfated zirconia

Sulfated zirconia catalysts promoted by gallium or aluminium were prepared and tested for n-butane isomerization. Both elements increase and stabilize the isomerization rate. Characterization results showed that the promoting mechanism of gallium was different from that of aluminium. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane with carbon dioxide over sulfated zirconia supported metal oxides catalysts

Several metal oxides supported on sulfated zirconia catalysts were tested for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane into ethylene by carbon dioxide. It is found that the catalytic behavior of supported oxide catalysts differ depending on the nature of metal oxides. Chromium oxide-sulfated zirconia exhibits the highest ethane conversion and medium level of ethylene selectivity, producing 38% ethylene yield at 50% ethane conversion at 650°C.     

Benefits of mesopores in sulfated zirconia catalyst

Activities of two catalysts obtained from hydroxide and alkoxide precursors were correlated to their different structural and textural properties. Activity is mainly determined by the presence of active tetragonal phase, which is more stable at high temperatures in the catalyst of alkoxide origin than in one from hydroxide. An appropriate structure must be accompanied with beneficial pore structure, as is the case of mesopores of the catalyst from alkoxide. In the case of very small pores of the catalyst from hydroxide precursor, activity is negligible due to pores plugged by coke.     

纯四方相硫化氧化锆催化剂的制备及其生物柴油合成应用研究

将过硫酸铵浸渍于直接合成的纳米氧化锆晶体表面,经300-500℃高温焙烧处理获得硫化氧化锆催化剂。采用X射线衍射（XRD）、氮气吸附-脱附、氨气程序升温脱附（NH₃-TPD）、傅里叶红外光谱（FT-IR）、扫描电镜（SEM）和能谱仪（EDS）等分析手段对催化剂的结构性能进行了表征。结果表明,所有的催化剂均展现出纯四方相结构和高的结晶度。其中,经500℃热处理获得的催化剂拥有最高的硫含量和酸性位,将其应用于大豆油与甲醇酯交换反应合成生物柴油,获得了脂肪酸甲酯收率高达84.6%的催化效果,进一步表明该催化剂表面存在优越的超强酸位。     

Cation radical intermediates in benzene and toluene polycondensation on sulfated zirconia

Benzene dimer cation radicals were detected on sulfated zirconia at low temperature and benzene coverage. Two temperature regions for their transformations were observed. Below 473 K the radical concentration remained stable reflecting the amount of strong surface acceptor sites. Above 623 K it increased drastically.     

Thermooxidative stability of polymethyl methacrylate containing nanoparticles of silica/titania and silica/zirconia

The influence of silica/titania and silica/zirconia nanoparticles on thermooxidative degradation of PMMA was studied by non-isothermal thermogravimetry. Kinetic parameters describing the length of the oxidation induction periods were obtained from the treatment of the dependence of oxidation onset temperature on heating rate. Using these parameters, the protection factors of nanoparticles have been calculated. It was found that SiO₂/TiO₂ nanoparticles increase the thermooxidation stability of PMMA where the stabilizing effect, expressed as the protection factor, depends on temperature only slightly. The stabilizing effect of SiO₂/ZrO₂ is much stronger than that of SiO₂/TiO₂ and decreases with increasing temperature.     

Butane isomerization over platinum promoted sulfated zirconia catalysts

The isomerization of n-butane to i-butane has been studied at 11 bar in a microflow reactor over sulfated zirconia (SZ) and platinum containing sulfated zirconia (Pt-SZ) catalysts. In the presence of H₂ a significantly higher temperature is required for isomerization over SZ than in its absence. The rate over SZ is higher with n-butane containing 33 ppm butene as an impurity than with a feed that is pre-equilibrated over a Pt/SiO₂ catalyst to a much lower butene content. Over Pt-SZ the reaction rate is higher, because any butene consumed is rapidly regenerated; the conversion is perfectly stable in 83 h runs, selectivity to i-butane is 95%; i-pentane and propane are the main byproducts. The activation energy is 53 kJ mol⁻¹. Upon increasing the pressure of H₂ from 1.1 to 6.6 bar, the reaction rate was found to decrease in a perfectly reversible fashion. Kinetic analysis reveals that the reaction order is negative in H₂ (−1.1 to −1.3 depending on the temperature) and positive in n-butane (+ 1.3 to +1.6), indicating that the mechanism of this isomerization is intermolecular: butene is formed and reacts with adsorbed C₄-carbenium ions to adsorbed C₈ intermediates which isomerize and undergo β-fission to fragments with i-C₄ structure. This mechanism is confirmed over Pt-SZ by isotopic labelling experiments, though at much lower pressure, using double labelled ¹³CH₃---CH₂---CH₂---¹³CH₃. The primary reaction product consists of i-butane molecules, containing zero, one, two, three and four ¹³C atoms in a binomial distribution.     

Enhancement of catalytic activity of titanosilicalite-1 - sulfated zirconia combination towards epoxidation of 1-octene with aqueous hydrogen peroxide

Summary Titanosilicalite-1 (TS-1) in combination with sulfated zirconia efficiently catalyzes the epoxidation of 1-octene with aqueous hydrogen peroxide. The presence of both octahedral zirconium and sulfate species in the catalysts enhances the epoxidation rates.     

Surface properties and catalytic activity of sulfated rutile

The present work reports an investigation of physico-chemical properties and catalytic activity of the pure, sulfated and iron containing sulfated rutile. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray Diffraction, FT-IR, BET surface area, TG and NH₃-TPD measurements. The catalytic activity of the prepared catalysts towards liquid phase Friedel-Crafts alkylation of toluene with benzyl chloride was tested. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Esterification reaction kinetics of acetic acid and n-pentanol catalyzed by sulfated zirconia

This study reports experimental data and kinetic modeling of acetic acid esterification with n-pentanol using sulfated zirconia as a catalyst. Reactions were carried out in an isothermal well-mixed batch reactor at different temperatures (50-80°C), n-pentanol to acid molar ratios (1:1-3:1), and catalyst loadings (5-10 wt% in relation to the total amount of acetic acid). The reaction mechanism regarding the heterogeneous catalysis was evaluated considering pseudo-homogeneous, Eley–Rideal, and Langmuir–Hinshelwood model approaches. The reaction mixture was considered a nonideal solution and the UNIQUAC thermodynamic model was used to take into account the nonidealities in the liquid phase. The results obtained indicated that increases in the temperature and catalyst loading increased the product formation, while changes in the n-pentanol to acetic acid molar ratio showed no significant effect. The estimated enthalpy of the reaction was −8.49 kJ mol⁻¹, suggesting a slightly exothermic reaction. The Eley–Rideal model, with acetic acid adsorbed on the catalyst as the limiting step, was found to be the most significant reaction mechanism.     

An efficient synthesis of 1,5-benzodiazepine derivatives catalyzed by a solid superacid sulfated zirconia

2,3-Dihydro-1H-1,5-benzodiazepines are synthesized by the condensation of o-phenylendiamine and various ketones in the presence of a versatile solid superacid catalyst ‘sulfated zirconia’ under solvent free conditions.     

Silica supported sulfated zirconia prepared by a sol-gel process: Effect of solvent evacuation procedure on the structural, textural and catalytic properties

Sol-gel process was used to prepare silica supported sulfated zirconia catalysts. The main parameter studied in this work was the gel drying method through four different ways of solvent evacuation. Textural, structural as well as the acidic properties of the four samples were studied using N₂ physisorption, X-ray diffraction, mass spectrometry, sulfur chemical analysis and adsorption-desorption of pyridine. The isomerization of n-hexane was used as a catalytic test. The surface areas and the pore distributions are highly affected by the drying mode. One of the four drying methods leads to a solid having improved textural properties and presenting both the crystalline ZrO₂ tetragonal phase and a particular type of sulfate mode bond. It seems that these three conditions are necessary for achieving high catalytic activity.     

Reversible formation of F+-centers over platinum promoted sulfated zirconia upon hydrogen treatment

Reversible formation of F⁺-centers was observed over platinum promoted sulfated zirconia in the presence and absence of hydrogen. The intensity of ESR signal of F⁺-centers was increased by treatment in He stream and it was decreased rapidly by supply of hydrogen in gas phase. This behavior seems to be related to proton spillover.     

Density functional theory study of the reactivity and electronic structure of the transesterification of triacetin in biodiesel production via a sulfated zirconia heterogeneous catalysis

This DFT study examined the interaction of a sulfated zirconia (SZ) slab model system (heterogeneous catalyst) and triacetin (a precursor in biodiesel production) using explicit methanol solvent molecules. Full geometry optimizations of the systems were performed at the B3LYP level of theory. Gibbs free energies provide insight into the spontaneity of the reactions along a three‐step reaction mechanism for the transesterification of triacetin. Charge decomposition analysis revealed electronic charge transfer between the metallic oxide and the organic moieties involved in the reaction mechanism. Fukui indices indicate the likely locations on the SZ surface where catalysis may occur. The quadratic synchronous transit scheme was used to locate transition structures for each step of the transesterification process. The results are in agreement with the strongly acidic catalytic character of zirconium observed experimentally in the production of biodiesel. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Suppression of radical-cationic benzene oligomerization on sulfated zirconia

The effect of catalyst activation conditions on transformations of benzene cation radicals on sulfated zirconia has been studied by in situ ESR spectroscopy. After the catalyst activation at 300°C there was no oligomerization of the cation radicals to biphenyl and heavier products, which is observed after catalyst calcination at 500°C. It has been suggested that the oligomerization is suppressed by the presence of strong Br?nsted sites on the surface.     

Acid-base, electron donating and catalytic properties of sulfated zirconia

The electron donating properties of sulfated zirconia were studied from the adsorption of electron acceptors of various electron affinity. The surface acidity and basicity of the oxides have also been determined by titration method using a set of Hammett indicators. The data have been correlated with the catalytic activity of the oxide towards esterification of acetic acid usingn-butanol, reduction of cyclohexanol in 2-propanol and oxidation of cyclohexanol with benzophenone.     

纳米氧化锆沉积棉花纤维的制备及其在磷酸化多肽快速富集中的应用

采用液相沉积法在棉花纤维的表面成功沉积了纳米氧化锆颗粒,并将其装填在移液枪的吸头内,通过移液枪的抽吸实现对磷酸化多肽的萃取,萃取过程只需要2 min,方法简单、快速。该材料不仅可以从β-酪蛋白酶解物这种简单的体系中萃取出9个磷酸化多肽,还可以从物质的量比为1∶100的β-酪蛋白酶解物和牛血清白蛋白（BSA）酶解物混合物这类含有大量非磷酸化多肽的复杂样品中萃取出4种磷酸化多肽,且没有非磷酸化多肽被检出,表现出较好的萃取选择性。将该材料应用于人血清和脱脂牛奶这两种复杂实际样品的酶解物中磷酸化多肽的快速富集萃取,分别检测出5种和9种磷酸化多肽,均表现出较好的选择性。     

Isomerization of light alkanes: preparation and characterization of platinum promoted sulfated zirconia catalysts

Summary Platinum-promoted sulfated zirconia catalysts active in n-hexane isomerization were prepared in a one-step synthesis and characterized. The crystallinity and sulfur contents depend mainly on the calcination temperature. The stability of the sulphate in the presence of hydrogen is reduced by the presence of Pt.