Materials analysis with Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry; Application to catalysts

Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) is shown to be a powerful tool in the analysis of model catalysts. The surface coverage of various metals on thin SiO₂ layers on Si and thin Al₂O₃ layers on Al can be accurately measured while simultaneously depth profiles of the metals are obtained. The scattering technique is briefly reviewed and several applications concerning the preparation of model catalysts by wet chemical methods are presented.     

An efficient step size control for continuation methods

In solving a nonlinear equation by the use of a continuation method one of the crucial problems is the choice of the step sizes. We present a model for the total computational cost of a standard numerical continuation process and solve the problem of optimal step size control for this model. Using the theoretical results as a basis, we develop an adaptive step size algorithm for Newton's method. This procedure is computationally inexpensive and it gives quite satisfactory results compared to some other numerical experiments found in the literature.     

Methanol from synthesis gas over bimetallic FePd catalysts

Bimetallic FePd/SiO₂ catalysts exhibit higher activities in the formation of methanol from synthesis gas than Pd/SiO₂. The catalysts are a complex mixture of bcc and fcc FePd alloy, α-Fe and some unreduced iron.     

FeRu/TiO2 and Fe/TiO2 catalysts after reduction and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy

A series of TiO₂-supported bimetallic FeRu catalysts with different Fe:Ru ratios (; 101; 31; 11; 13) has been studied by means of in situ Mössbauer spectroscopy. The influence of reduction and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis on the state of iron in the FeRu/TiO₂ catalysts will be derived.