Ethane hydrogenolysis on silica-supported tantalum hydride. Quantum-chemical study

The structures of the (H₄Si₂O₅)O₂Ta(R, RR"R, RR) clusters (R, R", R = H, Me, Et, Pr; R = CH₂), which model the basic structural units of the catalytic cycle of ethane hydrogenolysis on silica-supported tantalum hydride, were studied by the density functional theory (B3LYP) and the perturbation theory (MP2). The possible structure of active sites was proposed based on comparison of experimental results with calculated data. Ethane hydrogenolysis and metathesis proceed by a mechanism involving the formation of ethylene -complexes and carbenium derivatives of tantalum as intermediates.