Mechanisms of hydrocarbon conversion reactions on heterogeneous catalysts: analogies with organometallic chemistry

Catalysis is central to most industrial processes for chemical manufacturing. As catalytic processes have become more complex and more demanding, selectivity has become the central issue in their design. Selectivity is defined by the relative rates of competing reaction pathways available to crucial intermediates, and can be controlled by subtle changes in the nature of the catalyst, the reactants, and/or the reaction conditions. In order to be able to do this in a systematic manner, a good understanding of the catalytic reaction mechanisms is needed. Here a connection is drawn between the key elementary steps comprising hydrocarbon conversion reactions on surfaces and those known to occur on discrete organometallic complexes. This way, the hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, hydrogenolysis, chain growth, and isomerization reactions typical in heterogeneous catalysis are redefined in terms of hydride elimination, oxidative addition, reductive elimination, migratory insertion, and 1, 2-shift elementary steps, among others. It is suggested that the knowledge already available from organometallic chemistry can be used to further advance the understanding of the surface science involved in heterogeneous catalysis. Thanks to the commonality of the chemistry involved, a better synergy could also be established between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic development. These ideas are discussed in this article in a critical and personal way.*Invited contribution to the special volume entitled The Interface between Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Catalysis, stemming from contributions at the recent International Symposium on Relations between Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Catalysis, and dedicated to the memory of Robert L. Burwell.     

Catalytic hydrogenation of nitrile rubber using palladium and ruthenium complexes

The catalytic hydrogenation of acrylonitrile‐butadiene copolymer (nitrile rubber, NBR) using Pd(OAc)₂ or RuCl₂(PPh₃)₃ catalysts has been investigated in order to produce a totally saturated nitrile rubber. The hydrogenation of NBR is effective with both catalysts and achieved total conversion under the appropriate reaction conditions. In the case of palladium the effects of reaction parameters such as reaction temperature, pressure, time, catalyst concentration, and NBR concentration have been investigated. Even though both ruthenium‐ and palladium‐based catalysts are effective in the production of HNBR, the former requires harsh reaction conditions and has the drawback of gel formation under high conversion, motivating the migration to RuCl₂ (PPh₃)₃ as an alternative catalyst. The degree of hydrogenation was determined by IR and NMR spectroscopy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007     

Hydrolytic decomposition of dichlorodifluoromethane on modified zirconium oxide surfaces

The hydrolytic decomposition of dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12) on various modified zirconium oxide surfaces has been studied. The reaction was carried out under flow conditions at 500°C. Complete CFC-12 conversion and long-time stability of the catalysts were achieved accompanied by a limitation of the undesired CFC-13 formation. A maximum CFC-12 conversion was observed on catalysts of sulfated zirconia or zirconia obtained from temperature-controlled calcination of zirconium oxide hydrate. The reaction depends on the presence or in situ formation of Brønsted acid sites. FTIR-photoacoustic measurements were performed on pyridine complexes chemisorbed on the catalyst surface in order to analyze the changes in the catalyst's acidity. The effects of the temperature and water in the reaction gas on the catalyzed decomposition of CFC-12 are examined.     

Catalysis of gasification of coal-derived cokes and chars

Calcium is the most important in-situ catalyst for gasification of US coal chars in O₂, CO₂ and H₂O. It is a poor catalyst for gasification of chars by H₂. Potassium and sodium added to low-rank coals by ion exchange and high-rank coals by impregnation are excellent catalysts for char gasification in O₂, CO₂ and H₂O. Carbon monoxide inhibits catalysis of the CH₂O reaction by calcium, potassium and sodium; H₂ inhibits catalysis by calcium. Thus injection of synthesis gas into the gasifier will inhibit the CH₂O reaction. Iron is not an important catalyst for the gasification of chars in O₂, CO₂ and H₂O, because it is invariably in the oxidized state. Carbon monoxide disproportionates to deposit carbon from a dry synthesis gas mixture (3 vol H₂ + 1 vol CO) over potassium-, sodium- and iron-loaded lignite char and a raw bituminous coal char, high in pyrite, at 1123 K and 0.1 MPa pressure. The carbon is highly reactive, with the injection of 2.7 kPa H₂O to the synthesis gas resulting in net carbon gasification. The effect of traces of sulphur in the gas stream on catalysis of gasification or carbon-forming reactions by calcium, potassium, or sodium is not well understood at present. Traces of sulphur do, however, inhibit catalysis by iron.     

硫酸氢钠催化合成丁二酸二乙酯

在一水硫酸氢钠存在下 ,由乙醇和丁二酸合成了丁二酸二乙酯。当丁二酸、乙醇和硫酸氢钠的物质的量比为 1∶ 6∶ 0 .2 ,环己烷为溶剂 ,回流分水 5 0 m in,酯收率达 80 .5 %     

Kinetics for benzoylation of sodium 4-acetylphenoxide via third-liquid phase in the phase-transfer catalysis

In this research, the kinetics for synthesizing 4-acetylphenyl benzoate (R^*COOR) from benzoylation of sodium 4-acetylphenoxide via third-liquid phase-transfer catalysis was investigated. The reaction rate was observed to be strongly dependent on agitation speeds in the third-phase catalytic reaction. By forming the third-liquid phase, the observed reaction can be greatly enhanced to give a product yield of 100% in a duration of 3 min at 20 °C and 200 rpm. If a third-liquid phase was not formed in the liquid–liquid system, the reaction rate is very slow and the product yield is only 2% in 3 min at 20 °C. The reaction conducted in third-liquid phase-transfer catalytic system is faster than that in LLPTC system by 25–28 times. The amount of catalytic intermediate (QOR) in the third-liquid phase was about 50% of the catalyst initially added and kept about 30% of it remained after 1 min, and only small amounts of a catalytic intermediate residing in the organic phase were observed during the reaction using methyl t-butyl ether as the solvent. The concentration of catalytic intermediate slightly decreased with increasing reaction time, while the molar ratio of QOR to benzyl tri-n-butylammonium cation in the third-liquid phase remained almost constant after 1 min and increased with increasing agitation speeds. The experimental results were well described by the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The present work shows an effective method to synthesize 4-acetylphenyl benzoate.     

锐钛型TiO2对尿素热解过程的影响

通过实验的方法收集了不同温度下纯尿素和尿素/TiO₂混合物热解后的固体残留物，使用红外光谱（IR）及气相色谱质谱联机（GC-MS）方法对这些热解残留物进行成分分析；使用热重-红外联机（TG-FTIR）技术研究尿素及三聚氰酸在有无催化剂TiO₂的情况下的热解特性及气体产物的生成规律；根据Coats-Renfern方法对尿素热解第一阶段的非等温热失重率曲线的数据进行动力学研究，建立动力学方程。结果表明，100~250℃的尿素热解残留物中主要为尿素和缩二脲，300~400℃的尿素热解残留物中主要为三聚氰酸等含氮杂环有机化合物；锐钛型TiO₂能促进尿素和三聚氰酸的热解反应，缩短其反应进程，HNCO与水蒸气在TiO₂表面易发生反应；尿素第一阶段热解的反应级数为2，单独热解时活化能为113.25kJ/mol，指前因子A为2.01×10¹¹min^-1，在催化剂TiO₂的作用下，活化能E为77.42kJ/mol，指前因子A为4.82×10⁷min^-1。     

Sub-ambient cold-start emissions reduction using SwRI® PO x catalyst technology

This paper describes the application of SwRI’s cold-start PO _x catalyst technology to reduce cold-start hydrocarbon emissions from a US Tier 2 vehicle at −7 °C. A reduction in −7 °C (20 °F) cold-start hydrocarbons will help US Tier 2 vehicles meet the proposed EPA NMOG standards. Improvements in cold temperature hydrocarbon emissions would also be beneficial in many parts of Europe during the winter months. In this work, a total hydrocarbon reduction of 19% was realized at 24 °C, in line with previous results, but only up to 3% at −7 °C. Insufficient oxygen in the engine-out exhaust gas at −7 °C was determined to be the reason why the PO _x catalyst failed to significantly reduce HC emissions. Addition of supplemental oxygen to the exhaust during the cold-start, to simulate an adjustment in the engine calibration to less rich operation, resulted in a total hydrocarbon reduction of 18% with the PO _x catalysts in place, but no benefit when the PO _x catalysts were removed. Hence, the PO _x catalyst approach can be used to good effect, even under sub-ambient cold-start conditions.     

细胞固定化催化生产精细化学品的研究进展Q

摘要：细胞固定化技术具有流程简单、生物相容、操作稳定等优点，可有效保证细胞活性，实现高效的细胞催化生产精细化学品。本文介绍了表面附着、凝胶包埋、聚电解质层层自组装膜等多细胞固定化方法，及其在二元醇、生物乙醇、乳酸、酯、多糖等精细化学品生产中的研究现状和进展，并分析讨论了各种方法存在的问题。同时，总结了近年来新发展的单细胞纳米涂层固定化方法的机理、趋势及应用于精细化学品生产的可能性。最后对细胞固定化催化生产精细化学品面临的技术挑战及研究方向做出展望，以期为精细化学品生产提供一定的技术支持。     

β-环糊精-氧化石墨烯超分子杂化体的构筑及应用进展

β-环糊精是由7个D-吡喃葡萄糖单元通过α-1,4-糖苷键键连成环的超分子主体分子，“内疏水、外亲水”的独特结构赋予了其优异的分子识别能力；氧化石墨烯类材料凭借其优良特性成为近几年的研究热点。由β-环糊精和氧化石墨烯构筑的超分子杂化体在兼具二者特有性能的基础上又有新功能的引入。本文综述了β-环糊精-氧化石墨烯超分子杂化体的构筑方式，按二者间的连接方式，分别为共价键和非共价键两种连接方式，其中通过共价键连接是目前最主要的构筑方式；此外对β-环糊精-氧化石墨烯超分子杂化体的特征和表征进行了简述。同时对β-环糊精-氧化石墨烯超分子杂化体在水污染处理、电化学检测、药物控释和催化等领域的应用进展进行了综述。最后对该超分子杂化体在构筑和应用上的发展趋势进行了展望。