Effect of electron beam irradiation on the formation of active sites in the Pt/H pentasil catalyst

The influence of preirradiation with an electron beam from a linear resonance electron accelerator in flowing argon on the structure and properties of the 1% Pt/H pentasil catalyst was studied. The support structure was studied by x-ray diffraction and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption. No changes in the crystal structure and pentasil specific surface area were observed in the irradiation dose range from 120 to 900 Mrad at an average electron energy of 7.7 MeV. The electron beam treatment resulted in a considerable increase in the catalytic activity of the Pt/H pentasil in gas-phase toluene hydrogenation as a model reaction. The results obtained by IR spectroscopy of adsorbed CO and X-ray diffraction data suggested that the increase in the catalyst activity after electron beam irradiation is due to changes in the size and charge of the Pt particles.