Pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance study of transport properties of fluid catalytic cracking catalysts

Pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG NMR) has been applied to study molecular diffusion in industrial fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts and in USY zeolite for a broad range of molecular displacements and temperatures. The results of this study have been used to elucidate the relevance of molecular transport on various displacements for the rate of molecular exchange between catalyst particles and their surroundings. It turned out that this rate, which may determine the overall rate and selectivity of FCC process, is primarily related to the diffusion mode associated with displacements larger than the size of zeolite crystals located in the particles but smaller than the size of the particles. This conclusion has been confirmed by comparative studies of the catalytic performance of different FCC catalysts.     

NMR magnetization transfer as a tool for characterization of nanoporous materials

The application of nuclear magnetic resonance magnetization transfer experiments to probe the surface-to-volume ratio and pore morphology of porous materials with characteristic pore sizes of 1-100 nm is described. The method is based on the phenomenon of incomplete freezing of liquids in small pores where a few monolayers adjacent to the pore walls remain liquid. Sufficient difference between the transverse relaxation times in the solid frozen core and liquid surface layer allows the initial preparation and subsequent re-equilibration of a solid-liquid magnetization grating. The method is demonstrated using model nanoporous materials with known characteristics. The ensuing problems of the mechanism of the magnetization transfer through the interface and within the frozen core are discussed and elucidated by pulsed-field-gradient NMR experiments.     

Diffusion of guest molecules in MCM-41 agglomerates

The pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance method has been used to study self-diffusion of cyclohexane in a commercial MCM-41 material at different external gas pressures from zero to saturated vapor pressure. It is found that the effective diffusivities exhibit three different regions with increasing pressure: decrease at low pressures, a sudden drop at intermediate pressures, and increase at higher pressures. In addition, in the region of irreversible adsorption (hysteresis loop) the diffusivities are also found to differ on the adsorption and the desorption branches. A simple analytical model taking account of different molecular ensembles with different transport properties due to the complex architecture of the porous structure is developed which provides a quantitative prediction of the experimental data. The analysis reveals that the effective diffusivity is predominantly controlled by the adsorption properties of the individual mesoporous MCM-41 crystallites which, in combination with high transport rates, provide a simple instrument for fine tuning of the transport properties by a subtle variation of the external conditions.     

Transfer measurements for the Ti+Ni systems at near barrier energies

Large enhancements have been observed in the sub-barrier fusion cross sections for Ti+Ni systems in our previous studies. Coupled channel calculations incorporating couplings to 2⁺ and 3⁻ states failed to explain these enhancements completely. A possibilty of transfer channels contributing to the residual enhancements had been suggested. In order to investigate the role of relevant transfer channels, measurements of one- and two-nucleon transfer were carried out for ^46,48Ti+⁶¹Ni systems. The present paper gives the results of these studies.     

Surface self-diffusion of organic molecules adsorbed in porous silicon

The pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance method has been employed to probe self-diffusion of organic guest molecules adsorbed in porous silicon with a 3.6 nm pore size. The molecular self-diffusion coefficient and intrapore adsorption were simultaneously measured as a function of the external vapor pressure. The latter was varied in a broad range to provide pore loading from less than monolayer surface coverage to full pore saturation. The measured diffusivities are found to be well-correlated with the adsorption isotherms. At low molecular concentrations in the pores, corresponding to surface coverages of less than one monolayer, the self-diffusion coefficient strongly increases with increasing concentration. This observation is attributed to the occurrence of activated diffusion on a heterogeneous surface. Additional experiments in a broad temperature range and using binary mixtures confirm this hypothesis.     

Ensemble Measurement of Diffusion: Novel Beauty and Evidence

Recording the evolution of concentration profiles in nanoporous materials opens a new field of diffusion research with particle ensembles. The technique is based on the complementary application of interference microscopy and IR micro‐imaging. Combining the virtues of diffusion measurements with solids and fluids, it provides information of unprecedented wealth and visual power on transport phenomena in molecular ensembles. These phenomena include the diverging uptake and release patterns for concentration‐dependent diffusivities, the mechanisms of mass transfer at the fluid–solid interface and opposing tendencies in local and global concentration evolution.     

Internal concentration gradients of guest molecules in nanoporous host materials: measurement and microscopic analysis

Evolution of internal concentration profiles of methanol in 2-D pore structure of ferrierite crystal was measured in the pressure range of 0 to 80 mbar with the help of the recently developed interference microscopy technique. The measured profiles showed that both a surface barrier and internal diffusion controlled the kinetics of adsorption/desorption. Furthermore, they indicated that in the main part of the crystal, the z-directional 10-ring channels were not accessible to methanol and that the transport of methanol mainly occurred via 8-ring y-directional channels. The roof-like part of the crystal was almost instantaneously filled/emptied during adsorption/desorption, indicating accessible 10-ring channels in this section. The measured profiles were analyzed microscopically with the direct application of Fick's second law, and the transport diffusivity of methanol in ferrierite was determined as a function of adsorbed phase concentration. The transport diffusivity varied by more than 2 orders of magnitude over the investigated pressure range. Transport diffusivities, calculated from measured profiles from small and large pressure step changes, were all found to be consistent. Simulated concentration profiles obtained from the solution of Fick's second law with the calculated functional dependence of diffusivities on concentration compared very well with the measured concentration profiles, indicating validity and consistency of the measured data and the calculated diffusivities. The results indicate the importance of measuring the evolution of concentration profiles as this information is vital in determining (1) the direction of internal transport, (2) the presence of internal structural defects, and (3) surface/internal transport barriers. Such detailed information is available neither from common macroscopic methods since, they measure changes in macroscopic properties and use model assumptions to predict the concentration profiles inside, nor from microscopic methods, since they only provide information on average displacement of diffusing molecules.     

Pseudo-Restricted Self-Diffusion of Molecules in Biporous Structures: Study by Pulsed Field Gradient NMR

The mobility of liquid (n-decane) that fills the system of primary and secondary pores of a biporous sample (granular Vycor porous glass) is studied by the pulsed field gradient NMR technique. The anomalous time dependence of the slow component of diffusion decay is revealed: the self-diffusion coefficient decreases with an increase in diffusion time t_d and, at large t_d values, this dependence satisfies the feature of completely restricted self-diffusion. It is established that this component is related to the mobility of liquid molecules filling the system of primary pores. By use of computer simulation, it is shown that the effect of “pseudo-restricted” diffusion is explained by the exchange processes between the phases, where the molecules of the liquid that are present in the systems of primary and secondary pores and differ in self-diffusion coefficients are understood as the phases. The effect of interfacial exchange is confirmed by the time dependence of the fraction of molecules with the lowest self-diffusion coefficients. The revealed phenomenon of “pseudo-restricted” diffusion is not related to real spatial constraints and can be observed in any systems with two (or more) phases with different self-diffusion coefficients, provided that these “phases” are bulky and can be subjected to molecular exchange.