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Methane is the most abundant constituent of natural gas and it is difficult to fully oxidize without effective catalysts. Pd is recognized as the most efficient catalyst for the methane combustion reaction. However, few routes are available for the preparation of near-monodisperse Pd clusters for catalysis. Here we focused on the synthesis and activation of mercaptoundecanoic acid-protected Pd clusters (1.1 ± 0.3 nm) and encapsulated them in a silica matrix using sol-gel chemistry. EXAFS analysis revealed that nearly complete removal of thiolate ligands at 250 ˚C in air leads to the partial oxidation of Pd clusters and that the clusters are completely oxidized to PdO at 650 ˚C. TEM and CO chemisorption studies suggest that silica coated Pd clusters are much more resistant to sintering than the control sample of Pd clusters deposited on silica spheres. The activity studies over silica-coated and non-coated catalysts for the methane combustion reaction indicate the presence of the silica shell on the Pd clusters significantly improves the catalytic activity.

The exhaust stream from a lean-burn natural gas vehicle (NGV) typically has a maximum temperature of about 550 °C, a low concentration of methane (500–1000 ppmv) and a large amount of water vapor (around 15% by volume) which is a major cause of Pd catalyst deactivation. Such conditions pose significant challenges in the development of a small footprint catalytic converter to mitigate methane emissions. In this review, we address how the choice of support material can affect the Pd catalyst tolerance to water. Support hydrophobicity, its ability to serve as a sink for the hydroxyls, and oxygen mobility are some of the crucial factors that have contributed to improved catalyst stability and activity. In addition to the summary of the most recent advances in the field, we provide recommendations for catalyst testing and characterization techniques that are specific to the application of interest.

With the increasing demand for clean hydrogen production, both as a fuel and an indispensable reagent for chemical industries, acidic water electrolysis has attracted considerable attention in academic and industrial research. Iridium is a well-accepted active and corrosion-resistant component of catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, its scarcity demands breakthroughs in catalyst preparation technologies to ensure its most efficient utilisation. This minireview focusses on the wet-chemistry synthetic methods of the most active and (potentially) durable iridium catalysts for acidic OER, selected from the recent publications in the open literature. The catalysts are classified by their synthesis methods, with authors’ opinion on their practicality. The review may also guide the selection of the state-of-the-art iridium catalysts for benchmarking purposes.

The high oxygen storage capacity of exhaust gas treatment catalysts is a desirable feature for stabilizing fuel conversion at lambda variations for stoichiometric engine performance. Pd catalysts supported on Co3O4, Al2O3, CeO2 and ZrO2, as well as Pd-free Co3O4, were evaluated using methane combustion at sub-stoichiometric oxygen-to-fuel ratios at temperatures below 550 °C. The product analysis was performed with an online mass spectrometer calibrated for CH4, O2, CO2, H2O, CO and H2. Only both cobalt catalysts demonstrated the insensitivity of the methane conversion to O2/CH4 variations. The Pd/Co3O4 catalyst was the only catalyst that produced a 40 % increase in exit gas flow above the feed gas mass flow rate at ignition (light-off) between 400 °C and 550 °C, with the same decrease upon extinction. The oxygen from the catalyst participated in the combustion, even while the molecular oxygen supplies lasted. Selected catalysts were analyzed by temperature-programmed desorption, reduction in H2 and surface reaction with CH4. In the absence of O2 in the feed, Pd/Co3O4 supplied a “tithe” of its bulk oxygen at temperatures of 400−550 °C for the formation of CO2 and H2O, while Pd/Al2O3 provided only PdO-associated low oxygen for the CO and H2 formation. Co3O4 surpasses CeO2 in its oxygen-donating properties at low temperatures and at the conditions tested and, thus, is potentially capable of widening the operational lambda window of stoichiometric combustion to a larger extent than ceria.

This study addresses the hydrogenation of olefins as related to their removal from thermally cracked bitumen. The inhibition effect of a nitrogen base is evaluated on the model feed comprising a co...

Co3O4 and Pd/Co3O4 catalysts were analyzed for Pd and Co speciation during wet lean methane combustion in temperature ranges of 150–450 °C by means of in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy. As water inhibits Pd reoxidation during methane combustion, the catalysts were reduced prior to the in situ XAS analyses to follow the evolution of the oxidized species. The contributions from metallic Pd, PdO and Pd(OH)2 and metallic Co, Co(II), and Co(III) oxides were quantified as a function of temperature. The Pd-free sample showed remarkable stability of its species regardless of temperature in the dry feed but the presence of water inhibited its reoxidation. In a partially pre-reduced Pd/CoOx catalyst in the wet feed, cobalt species progressively oxidized to the level of the Pd-free sample. Pd remained largely unoxidized below the surface, with the Pd(0) fraction remaining stable in the studied 150–450 °C region. This was ascribed to the effect of the cobalt oxide support, as Pd(0) is known to oxidize progressively for alumina and tin dioxide supports in the wet feeds. We considered bulk thermodynamics of the involved processes, as well as the reported activation energies and kinetic data from a previous study on methane combustion. In combination with the results from the in situ XAS, we suggest that cobalt oxide, being a preferential oxygen but unlikely hydroxyl acceptor, inhibits Pd oxidation, and does not provide benefits in terms of inactive Pd(OH)2 formation.

Development of an active and durable catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a pivotal part of designing an efficient PEM water electrolyser. Iridium is one of the best available catalysts because of its corrosion resistance and activity [1]. Use of Ir is however, limited by its scarcity, limited durability and high cost. Its deposition on a support is a popular way to improve the available surface area, activity and stability [2]. For applications in acidic water electrolysis, supports with the highest chemical resistance and conductivity are preferred. While different methods have been studied to impregnate a support with catalyst nanoparticles, such as Adams’s fusion method and polyol method, their scalability remains questionable due to intensive resource requirements. In this work, Ir oxide based supported catalysts have been synthesized using the incipient wetness method (IWM), one of the most commonly used method of catalyst synthesis in the industry due to its ease of scalability, limited resource requirement and the opportunity to explore the effect of strong metal support interactions. This method however has not been discussed in literature. In this study, Ir oxide (IrOx) (Ir loading on support = 20 wt. percent) was dispersed on commercial supports (ZrO2, Nb2O5, Ta2O5, ATO) using H2IrCl6.xH2O precursor (99.9% trace metal basis, Sigma Aldrich). The catalysts were calcined at 400oC for 2 h in a muffle furnace to produce Ir oxide based catalysts. Electrochemical measurements were carried out on a standard rotating-disk electrode (RDE) system (PINE Research MSR Rotator), and a three-electrode electrochemical cell in 1.0 M sulfuric acid electrolyte (H2SO4 optima grade, Fisher Scientific). The performance of the aforementioned supported Ir oxide catalyst was compared among themselves, and to benchmark commercial catalysts (Umicore Ir Black and IrOx TKK) using metrics such as mass normalized activity (A/g-1 Ir), ECSA normalized activity (mA/cm2 Ir ECSA), Tafel slope (mV/dec) and charge transfer resistance (Rct) measured during the electrochemical test. It was observed that the activity of IrOx/ZrO2 (415 A/gIr, 5.2 mA/cm2 Ir ECSA) was the best among all the 4 impregnated catalysts, and was in fact, more than an order of magnitude greater than that of IrOx/ATO (30 A/gIr, 0.3 mA/cm2 Ir ECSA) at a potential of 1.53 VRHE. A significant drop in the Tafel slope measured in the potential range of 1.45-1.55 VRHE was observed upon changing the support from ATO (80 mV/dec) to ZrO2 (60 mV/dec) hinting towards a change in the reaction mechanism. IrOx/ATO was used as a baseline due to prevalent recognition of ATO as an excellent support for OER catalysts in the literature. Upon comparison with commercial benchmark catalysts it was observed that the Ir ECSA normalized activity of IrOx/Nb2O5, IrOx/Ta2O5, IrOx/ZrO2 surpasses both Umicore Ir black ( 2.23 mA/cm2 Ir ECSA) and IrOx TKK (1.23 mA/cm2 Ir ECSA) with IrOx/ZrO2 providing the highest activity. While Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) has been a popular choice as an electrolyte and anode for high temperature SOFC due to its non-reducing nature, high thermal stability and mechanical strength, and acceptable oxygen ion conductivity [3], its application in PEM water electrolysis as catalyst support has not been discussed. In this work, we focus on finding the causes for superior performance of ZrO2 as a support for Ir oxide based OER reaction in acidic conditions through the lens of electrocatalysis. References: [1] X. Li, X. Hao, A. Abudula, and G. Guan, “Nanostructured catalysts for electrochemical water splitting: Current state and prospects,” Journal of Materials Chemistry A, vol. 4, no. 31, pp. 11973–12000, 2016, doi: 10.1039/c6ta02334g. [2] H. Dhawan, M. Secanell, and N. Semagina, “State-of-the-art iridium-based catalysts for acidic water electrolysis: a minireview of wet-chemistry synthesis methods,” Jan. 01, 2021. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/matthey/jmtr/pre-prints/content-jm_jmtr_semagapr21 (accessed Mar. 26, 2021). [3] T. K. Maiti et al., “Zirconia- and ceria-based electrolytes for fuel cell applications: critical advancements toward sustainable and clean energy production,” Environ Sci Pollut Res, vol. 29, no. 43, pp. 64489–64512, Sep. 2022, doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-22087-9. Figure 1

Reaction kinetics of methane combustion is investigated on Co3O4 and Pd/Co3O4 (0.27 wt% Pd) catalysts for a fuel-lean feed. The temperature ranges between 250 and 550 °C in the presence of 5 and 10 vol% water with CH4 concentrations that varied between 1000 and 5000 ppmv. Significant cobalt oxide contribution to the activity of the bimetallic catalyst is observed, especially at higher water concentration and lower temperature (up to 70%). Co3O4 demonstrates first order to CH4, 0 order to H2O and activation energy of 69 kJ/mol. Pd/Co3O4 catalyst shows first order to CH4, negative 0.37 order to H2O and an observed activation energy of 90.7 kJ/mol, which is corrected for water adsorption to 60.6 kJ/mol. The latter is a typical activation energy for Pd/Al2O3 catalyst at similar conditions, indicating that the Co3O4 contribution is not only in performing the methane combustion itself but also in supplying surface oxygen rather than in affecting the activation energy. The kinetic evidence shows that the observed behaviour of Pd/Co3O4 catalyst is not a summation of individual activities of Co3O4 and Pd, but rather the effect of strong metal-support interactions (SMSI).

Deterioration of intrinsic activity of Ir-based electrocatalysts during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has received much less attention compared to the metal dissolution. Combining chronoamperometry with operando electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry, we show that the deactivation via active site phase transformation from hydrous Ir oxide/hydroxide into anhydrous Ir oxide, is concomitant with the dissolution-induced loss of electrochemical surface area. The relative contributions from these deactivation paths were found to be structure sensitive. Systematic evaluation of different Ir-based catalysts at identical electro-oxidative conditions showed that hydrous IrOx with structural short-range order exhibited an initial minor degradation of intrinsic activity but the most significant dissolution after the extended stability test. In contrast, newly-reported Ir superstructures with higher crystallinity and larger proportion of low-index crystal terminations exhibited enhanced resistance to dissolution but a major degradation of intrinsic activity, as the performance-relevant hydrous oxide/hydroxide species developed only on the surface of metallic Ir. The Ir/IrOx catalyst regeneration was demonstrated.

Oxidative dry reforming of methane has been performed for 100 h on stream using Ni supported on MgAl2O4 spinel at different loadings at 500–700 °C, CO2/CH4 molar ratio of 0.76, and variable O2/CH4 molar ratio (0.12–0.47). Syngas with an H2/CO ratio of 1.5–2.1 has been produced by manipulating reforming feed composition and temperature. The developed oxidative dry reforming process allowed high CH4 conversion at all conditions, while CO2 conversion decreased significantly with the lowering of the reforming temperature and increasing O2 concentration. When considering both greenhouse gas conversions and H2/CO ratio enhancement, the optimal reforming condition should be assigned to 550 °C and O2/CH4 molar ratio of 0.47, which delivered syngas with H2/CO ratio of 1.5. Coke-free operation was also achieved, due to the combustion of surface carbon species by oxygen. The 3.4 wt% Ni/MgAl2O4 catalyst with a mean Ni nanoparticle diameter of 9.8 nm showed stable performance during oxidative dry reforming for 100 h on stream without deactivation by sintering or coke deposition. The superior activity and stability of MgAl2O4 supported Ni catalyst shown during reaction trials is consistent with characterization results from XRD, TPR, STEM, HR-STEM, XPS, and CHNS analysis.

With the increasing demand for clean hydrogen production, both as a fuel and an indispensable reagent for chemical industries, acidic water electrolysis has attracted considerable attention in academic and industrial research. Iridium is a well-accepted active and corrosion-resistant component of catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, its scarcity demands breakthroughs in catalyst preparation technologies to ensure its most efficient utilization. This minireview focusses on the wet-chemistry synthetic methods of the most active and (potentially) durable Ir catalysts for acidic OER, selected from the recent publications in the open literature. The catalysts are classified by their synthesis methods, with authors' opinion on their practicality. The review may also guide the selection of the state-of-the-art Ir catalysts for benchmarking purposes.

Tin dioxide was assessed as a substitute for part of platinum-group metals in a catalytic converter, and the activity of various Pd and PdPt catalysts was compared on conventional alumina support and SnO2 in wet lean methane combustion. Remarkably, Pd-only catalysts supported on SnO2 revealed higher activity compared with PdPt/Al2O3. The catalysts benefit from the strong metal-support interactions and high oxygen mobility in SnO2 with dual Sn4+/Sn2+ valency. SnO2 can thus be considered a potential replacement of Pt in a catalytic converter for a natural gas vehicle under lean burn conditions. This potentially decreases the price of the converter and eliminates the need for scarce and expensive Pt.

We present a single-step ligand-directed colloidal synthesis protocol for the selective growth of dimensionally- and shape-controlled niobium disulfide (NbS2) nanostructures. A systematic modulation of the reaction conditions resulted in the development of monolayer nanosheets, which alternatively grew as laterally confined (

Palladium-platinum bimetallic catalysts are known for high activity in methane combustion, with phase transformations and structural changes occurring in a high-temperature oxidative atmosphere. Previous research has typically dealt with reaction temperatures exceeding those of the natural gas vehicle (NGV) exhaust, especially for lean burn engines, and often in the absence of water. This study evaluates the effect of the Pd:Pt ratio (from 5:1, 4:1, … to 1:4, 1:5) on the Pd-Pt/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalyst stability during and after 40-h in situ hydrothermal ageing at 400–550 °C (5% water). Pt presence at Pd-Pt 1:1 to 4:1 ratios is found to be optimal from the viewpoint of activity, with the most stable formulation being a 1:1 Pd-Pt catalyst. Platinum excess above a 1:1 ratio suppresses deactivation at 400 °C, but at lower activity levels. The effect is not governed significantly by the particle size but by the ratio of Pd:Pt. The comparative experiments performed with Pd core–Pt shell nanoparticles, co-deposited monometallic particles and monometallic mixed supported catalysts, along with EDX mapping of the used catalysts, suggest significant structural changes when such particles progressively transform into alloyed structures, with activity and stability approaching those of the alloyed nanoparticles. The results suggest that platinum vaporization is significant in the wet feed at low surface oxygen concentrations, even at the temperature interval of 400–550 °C. It appears that the proper Pd-Pt metal ratio has a governing effect on the activity and stable behaviour in wet low-temperature methane combustion rather than the catalyst preparation method.

Niobium sulfide (NbS2) has shown a promising performance in versatile applications, but its formation from Nb oxide is thermodynamically limited, which hinders its usage. We predicted, based on thermodynamic calculations, and experimentally verified that the addition of copper (Cu) to niobium promotes Nb oxide sulfidation at practical temperatures. A series of bimetallic bulk NbCu structures at varying Cu/Nb molar ratios were synthesized via a coprecipitation technique. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) results revealed that copper facilitated sulfidation and reduction of niobium oxide. The synthesized NbCu catalysts were evaluated in hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) at 325 °C and 3 MPa. Copper promotes sulfidation but does not change the turnover frequency of surface NbS2 and behaves as a spectator. The optimal Cu/Nb molar ratio was found to be 0.3, below which there is not enough Cu to ensure maximum sulfidation and above which copper s...

Cu2+ and Zn2+ ion-exchange locations in mordenite (MOR) were evaluated using infrared spectroscopy, pore-size distribution, and temperature-programmed reduction. Isolated copper ions were the most abundant ion-exchanged species, as detected by UV-vis spectroscopy, in addition to oxide nanoparticles, with no presence of binuclear species, which was assigned to a low copper loading of 0.3 Cu/Al. The characterization revealed that only zinc could exchange in 8-membered rings. Hartree-Fock modeling confirmed copper exchange into 12-membered rings involving at least one T1 atom, and zinc exchange in T4 sites and in 8-membered structures, including T3 sites. Copper ion exchange did not offer improvement in the dimethyl ether carbonylation rate or selectivity over acidic mordenite. Zinc ion exchange led to the selectivity and stability improvement with some loss of activity. This work contributes to the understanding of acid and metal site contribution to DME carbonylation and contributes to the understanding for Cu2+ and Zn2+ ion-exchange locations in MOR with a low metal/Al loading (

A kinetic study of lean methane combustion on a silica-encapsulated bimetallic Pd–Pt (1:1 molar ratio) catalyst at varying methane concentrations and temperatures and in the absence/presence of added water is presented. With dry feed, the kinetic behavior of the bimetallic catalyst is correlated using a previously reported rate expression that is first order in methane and negative one order in water. The model does not adequately correlate the conversion of wet lean CH4 combustion in the temperature range of 550 to 750 K. For wet conditions, an alternative mechanism is suggested that is based on the previous experimental observations of the prevailing chemical state of Pd in wet feed, the ability of Pt to activate methane in oxygen-deficient atmospheres, and the inhibitory effect of water on the support-mediated oxygen exchange. The corresponding rate expression successfully predicts the activity of the silica-encapsulated Pd–Pt catalyst with wet feed (5 vol % water) in the temperature range of 550 to 75...

High-loading silica-encapsulated PdPt catalysts (PdPt@SiO2, 4 wt.% Pd, 7 wt.% Pt) are synthesized using a Stober-based method and are tested in lean methane combustion in the presence of water up to 550 °C. The as-synthesized bimetallic core particles have an average size of 7 nm, are uniform alloys of Pd and Pt, and are well-dispersed inside the oxide shells. The SiO2 shells are about 60 nm in diameter, with a specific surface area of 600 m2/g and a median pore diameter of 3.4 nm. The catalyst shows a stable methane conversion during a hydrothermal ageing (HTA) test which is two- and ten-fold higher than the conversion for the impregnated Al2O3 and SiO2-supported catalysts of the same metal loading, respectively. The surface area of the porous shell remains unaffected after HTA; however, the metal dispersion evaluated by CO chemisorption increases after the ageing and some changes in the morphology of the bimetallic PdPt nanoparticles occur.

The study focuses on the determination of metal site availability in silica-encapsulated Pd catalysts (Pd@SiO2). Existing synthetic methods are modified to achieve a high metal loading (up to 6 wt%) and porosity (surface area of 700 m2 g−1) while maintaining the original Pd nanoparticle size of 8 nm. Two synthesis schemes are used for encapsulating Pd NPs, and the resulting catalysts are assessed in lean methane combustion at up to 823 K. Application of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) as a Pd particle stabilizer and a potential porogen alone is concluded to be inadvisable as it results in catalysts with a surface area of 70 m2 g−1 that show extremely low activity due to Pd inaccessibility. The high-surface area materials (700 m2 g−1) prepared via a separate introduction of PVP and an additional porogen (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB) are active and exhibit the same turnover frequencies as the traditional catalysts but require smaller reactor sizes because of the high metal loading. However, 2/3 of the Pd nanoparticle surface is blocked by the shell material even in the highly porous catalysts. The silica-encapsulated catalysts, thus, offer advantages of high mass-based activity and sintering resistance of the metal cores, but their high porosity must be ensured for efficient mass transfer by the addition of a porogen (such as CTAB) during the Stober process. Above a certain limit, the increased amount of the porogen does not improve the metal accessibility and only leads to precious metal loss during synthesis.

A four-fold increase in palladium (Pd) mass-based hydrodesulfurization (HDS) activity was achieved by depositing Pd species as nanosized islands on 12 nm colloidal iron oxide (FeOx) nanoparticles via the galvanic exchange reaction. The highest palladium dispersion was obtained at an optimal Pd/Fe molar ratio of 0.2, which decreased when the ratio increased. The improved dispersion was responsible for the enhanced catalytic activity per the total Pd amount in the HDS of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene at 623 K and 3 MPa as compared to the iron-free Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. The lattice strain and modified electronic properties of the Pd islands suppressed deep hydrogenation to dimethylbicyclohexyl and changed the hydrocracking product distribution. Pd nanoparticles deposited on commercial Fe2O3 did not provide such an activity enhancement and catalyzed significant cracking. This study demonstrates that FeOx@Pd structures are a possible alternative to monometallic Pd catalysts with enhanced noble metal atom efficiency for ultra-deep HDS catalysis and points to their great potential to reduce the catalyst cost and move towards more earth-abundant catalytic materials.

Bimetallic Pd-Y nanoparticles were synthesized by yttrium precursor reduction on the surface of colloidal Pd seeds catalyzed by palladium hydride. The addition of yttrium improved the thermal stability of the Pd nanoparticles to agglomeration. The nanoparticles before and/or after deposition on alumina were characterized by TEM, XPS, STEM with elemental mapping, temperature-programmed reduction, CO chemisorption and CO-DRIFT spectroscopy. The supported catalysts were evaluated in hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of 4,6-dimethydibenzothiophene at 350 °C and 1 MPa. Yttrium addition did not alter the overall HDS rate but increased the direct desulfurization selectivity from 71% to 84% and suppressed cracking twice as much as monometallic Pd catalyst did. The study demonstrates that PdY structures could be a promising candidate for low-pressure HDS of refractory sulfur compounds.

The addition of platinum to palladium is known to provide bimetallic catalysts that are relatively active in lean methane combustion in the presence of water at temperatures below 773 K, which is of practical interest for exhaust treatment from natural gas vehicles. The study provides insight into the wet lean methane combustion mechanism on the Pd–Pt/Al2O3 catalyst via in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies at temperatures 473–873 K. The presence of water leads to an increased fraction of metallic Pd due to the lack of surface oxygen. The fraction of metallic Pd drops as the temperature increases. Oxygen deficit results in Pt atoms available for methane dissociation, which does not occur in the dry methane-lean feed, in which oxygen poisons Pt.

Dimethyl ether carbonylation to methyl acetate was studied on a series of dealuminated mordenites with Si/Al ratios of 6.5 through 15.4. Dealumination was achieved via leaching with nitric acid. Selective coupled removal of T3 and T4 Al sites located in 4-membered rings in 8- and 12-membered channels, respectively, was suggested by a combination of DRIFTS, TPD of probe molecules, 27 Al MAS NMR, surface area, pore distribution, and XRD analyses. The methyl acetate peak productivity was found to be equal when calculated per residual T3 sites in 8-membered rings, providing experimental evidence of the reaction site specificity. While dealumination led to the decrease in product peak rate because of active and selective T3 site removal, it doubled the catalyst lifetime and increased selectivity upon deactivation from 50% to 80%. The study decoupled the contribution of 4-membered (T3 and T4) and 5-membered (T1 and T2) acid sites to the products’ formation and catalyst deactivation.

Palladium-platinum bimetallic catalysts supported on alumina with Pd/Pt molar ratios ranging from 0.25 to 4 were studied in dry lean methane combustion in the temperature range of 200 to 500 degrees Celsius. Pt addition decreases the catalyst activity, which could not be explained by the decrease in dispersion or the reaction structure-sensitivity. In situ X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy measurements were conducted for monometallic Pd, Pt and Pd-Pt 2:1 catalysts. Monometallic Pd is fully oxidized in the full temperature range, whereas Pt addition promotes Pd reduction even in a reactive oxidizing environment. The Pd/PdO weight ratio in bimetallic Pd-Pt 2:1 catalysts decreases from 98/2 to 10/90 in the 200-500 degrees Celsius temperature range under reaction conditions. Thus, Pt promotes the formation of the reduced Pd phase with a significantly lower activity as compared to the oxidized Pd. The study sheds light on the effect of Pt on the state of the active Pd surface under low-temperature dry lean methane combustion conditions, which are important for methane-emission control devices.

This computational study addresses oil sands separation under microwave irradiation. Electric field distribution and microwave energy dissipation were analyzed at the level of sand particles and bitumen. The simplified model does not include water or gas present in the oil sands. The microwave power dissipated in bitumen was found to be about 32 times that of the sand particle. In order to investigate the feasibility of heating the bitumen phase preferentially and sustaining a thermal gradient between the bitumen phase and the solid phase, thereby reducing the thermal losses to the solid phase, time scales were estimated using several different scenarios. The small size of the particles in the solid phase caused the time needed to reach thermal equilibrium between phases to be extremely short, in the order of 10 to 100 ms. To achieve separation times shorter than these, pressures up to 100 GPa would have to be sustained across the oil sands layer. Alternatively, buoyancy-driven separation by settling would require accelerations in the order of 10^(5) g. Therefore, the heating and separation of bitumen within the thermal conduction time scales seem to be theoretically possible but associated with high technological challenges in their implementation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Metal nanoparticle (NP) co-catalysts on metal oxide semiconductor supports are attracting attention as photocatalysts for a variety of chemical reactions. Related efforts seek to make and use Pt-free catalysts. In this regard, we report here enhanced CH4 formation rates of 25 and 60 μmol·g–1·h–1 by photocatalytic CO2 reduction using hitherto unused ZnPd NPs as well as Au and Ru NPs. The NPs are formed by colloidal synthesis and grafted onto short n-type anatase TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNAs), grown anodically on transparent glass substrates. The interfacial electric fields in the NP-grafted TiO2 nanotubes were probed by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). Au NP-grafted TiO2 nanotubes (Au-TNAs) showed no band bending, but a depletion region was detected in Ru NP-grafted TNAs (Ru-TNAs) and an accumulation layer was observed in ZnPd NP-grafted TNAs (ZnPd-TNAs). Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) experiments showed significantly greater CO2 adsorption on NP-grafted TNAs. TNAs with grafted NPs exhibit broader and more intense UV–visible absorption bands than bare TNAs. We found that CO2 photoreduction by nanoparticle-grafted TNAs was driven not only by ultraviolet photons with energies greater than the TiO2 band gap, but also by blue photons close to and below the anatase band edge. The enhanced rate of CO2 reduction is attributed to superior use of blue photons in the solar spectrum, excellent reactant adsorption, efficient charge transfer to adsorbates, and low recombination losses.

38% to 93% selectivity enhancement toward sulfur-free products was observed upon iridium addition to a palladium-only catalyst in the hydrodesulfurization of a refractory sulfur compound 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT) at the same 40% conversion from a 300 ppm, S-containing feed at 5 MPa and 300 °C. Pd promoted hydrogenation to sulfurous intermediates, while Ir catalyzed C S hydrogenolysis and also improved Pd resistance to sintering. The selectivity in the direct desulfurization path for the Ir-containing catalysts increased up to 26% versus 5% for the Pd-only catalyst. The bimetallic catalyst allowed for a decrease in S from 300 ppm to 11 ppm. It can be used at reduced pressure (3 MPa) with only a 15% decrease in hydrodesulfurization conversion as compared to the operation at 5 MPa.

A plethora of previously unimaginable low-temperature C1 and C2 valorization reactions have become possible after the discovery of metal-exchanged solid-acid catalysts, with the most promising candidate being copper-mordenite. We show the dramatic effect of zinc addition to copper-exchanged mordenite in maintaining high Cu dispersion and reducing the catalyst poisoning as it relates to carbonylation of dimethyl ether to methyl acetate. Zinc maintains 90%+ selectivity even during deactivation versus 60% for the Cu-mordenite, which leads to 6-fold higher product yield. The concept of Zn addition is recommended for further exploration in the conversion of methane to methanol or acetic acid.

Bimetallic ion exchange on a zeolite often impacts its catalytic properties compared to its monometallic counterparts. Here, we address the synergistic effect of simultaneous copper and zinc ion exchange on mordenite (MOR), as found earlier for dimethyl ether (DME) carbonylation. Samples with various Cu/Zn ratios were characterized by diffuse-reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) in the 3600 and 720 cm-1 regions, pore distribution analysis through Ar physisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). When ion-exchanged alone, copper preferentially occupies 12-membered rings, whereas zinc occupies 8-membered rings. In bimetallic combinations, the zinc addition was found to prevent the copper from sintering into nanoparticles and to increase its coordination strength to the zeolite. At a Cu/Zn ratio of 0.25 (for MOR with Si/Al=6.5), copper promotes zinc ion exchange into 12-membered rings, more specifically, into T4 sites that are known for the formation of the coke precursor in DME carbonylation on a MOR. The sites became blocked during the bimetallic ion exchange, leading to suppressed catalyst deactivation. The study contributes to the understanding of mutual ion effects in bimetallic exchanged zeolites and highlights the major role of copper as a governing factor in determining the location of co-exchanged zinc on a MOR.

Two types of bimetallic Pd-Ru catalysts with a 2:1 Ru:Pd molar ratio were prepared using a poly-(vinylpyrrolidone) stabilizer: one alloy structure with mixed-surface atoms and one core–shell structure with a Pd core and Ru shell, which were confirmed by a surface-probe reaction at mild conditions. In indan hydrogenolysis at 350 °C, inversion of the core–shell structure began with Pd atoms appearing on the surface of the particles. Both catalysts displayed distinctively different catalytic behavior and indicated the importance of structure control for this particular application within a studied time frame. For methane combustion over the 200–550 °C temperature range, both structures demonstrated identical activity, which was due to their structural evolution to one nanoparticle type with Pd-enriched shells, as evidenced by extended X-ray absorption fine structure.

The crucial role of Ni mode addition to Pd catalysts for low-temperature wet methane combustion is addressed, resulting in excellent performance of ultralow-Ni-containing catalysts versus inactive nickel–alumina spinel. Traditional impregnation–calcination and colloidal techniques of bimetallic catalyst preparation yield monometallic Pd particles on a binary NiAl2O4 support and Pd and Ni nanoparticles on the parent Al2O3 support, respectively. The catalyst is potentially valuable for natural gas catalytic combustion technologies because it decreases the required temperature for complete methane combustion in 5% water presence in the feed by 100 degrees versus monometallic Pd.

The major concern in estimating sonochemical yield and efficiency in ultrasound-assisted processes is in defining a “silent” control experiment, without cavitation effects. To estimate the potential benefit of the ultrasonic treatment as compared to conventional heating, we propose that the effects should be compared at the same power input, when the energy in a silent experiment is dissipated as heat. Our calculations of possible temperature increase under the silent conditions for oil sands extraction and upgrading showed necessity of such approach.

An increase in stirring speed is generally considered to be an a priori means of reducing external mass-transfer limitations in fast three-phase hydrogenations that are performed in a stirred tank. We provide experimental evidence for a 300-mL stirred reactor that, above a certain impeller speed, the efficiency of gas–liquid mass-transfer decreases, resulting in the decreased reaction rate. The phenomenon is attributed to the high degree of gas recirculation with large cavities behind the blades. The recirculation may decrease hydrogen concentration in the remainder of the tank, thus decreasing the concentration gradient that controls mass transfer. The model reaction in this work was 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol semihydrogenation with Lindlar catalyst Pd–Pb/CaCO3. The test impellers were a Rushton turbine, a down-pumping pitched blade turbine, and up-pumping A340 impellers. The kinetic experiments were combined with the measurement of volumetric gas–liquid mass-transfer coefficient, flow pattern analysis and im...

The answer is no. It depends on the catalyzed reaction and the active metal. For Ru and Ir nanoparticles stabilized by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), their activities in an indan ring opening are not affected by the residual polymer, while CO chemisorption requires complete polymer removal. The in situ cleaning effect of the reaction atmosphere was found negligible. The findings are supported by TEM, XPS, CHN analysis, indan- and CO-TPD, CO chemisorption analyses and catalytic measurement. The necessity for complete polymer removal must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis; in some cases mild catalyst pretreatment is enough.

Alloy and core–shell bimetallic Pd–Ir nanoparticles stabilized by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and deposited on alumina were subjected to PVP removal via thermal treatments. Less than 25% of the PVP was removed at 200 °C calcination/375 °C reduction, while the 400 °C calcination eliminated over 95% of PVP. The treated samples were tested in the gas-phase ring opening of indane at 350 °C. The cleaning was paramount for the bimetallic catalysts with Pd-rich surfaces that only exhibited activity after 400 °C calcination, while the catalysts with Ir-rich surfaces were similarly active irrespective of the presence or absence of the PVP residuals. For the CO chemisorption, complete cleaning was required for all catalysts. The study is supported by CO-DRIFTS, CO-TPD, indane-TPD, carbon analysis, TEM, CO chemisorption and catalytic measurements, and shows that the necessity to remove PVP depends on the nature of metals in bimetallic catalysts and their surface arrangements.

A variety of bimetallic Ni–Ir catalysts were synthesised by preforming nanoparticles in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone, followed by deposition on γ-alumina and high-temperature polymer removal. The Ni–Ir (1:1 molar ratio) nanoparticles prepared by the hydrogen-sacrificial technique (Ir reduction on the preformed Ni nanoparticles with surface Ni hydride) allowed increasing indane ring opening activity per total amount of Ir as compared to monometallic Ir. The simultaneous reduction of Ni and Ir precursors was not as efficient. The catalysts were characterised with UV/Vis spectroscopy, TEM, temperature-programmed reduction, CO2 temperature-programmed desorption, CO diffuse reflectance Fourier transform spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and CHN analysis. The study only explored the catalyst’s metal function and allows saving rare and expensive iridium without loss of its outstanding performance as a ring-opening catalyst.

A 3- and 2-fold increase in selectivities toward 2-ethyltoluene and n-propylbenzene, respectively, in indan ring opening (RO) was achieved by introducing palladium to the ruthenium catalyst. The product selectivities for the Ru–Pd system with the 4:1 molar ratio were the same as those for monometallic iridium, known for its outstanding single cleavage selectivity; the lights formation was suppressed as compared with the monometallic platinum catalyst. A further increase in the Pd amount did not result in the selectivity improvement and brought down the activity to the low level of Pd. The bimetallic catalysts were synthesized in the presence of poly-(vinylpyrrolidone). The bimetallic systems revealed sintering resistance up to 400 °C, as compared with their monoforms. The indan RO activity was maximized after precalcination at 200 °C. The suggested nanoparticles’ bimetallicity was consistent with the results of CO-TPD, CO–DRIFTS, thermal stability tests, and a chemical probe reaction (olefin hydrogenation...

Due to the complexity of the vacuum residue fraction of petroleum and bitumen, a model compound was used to probe cracking and addition reactions in the liquid phase. Hydrogenation reactions were conducted in a batch microreactor at 430 °C, 13.9 MPa H2 for 30 min using a solution of 1,3,6,8-tetrahexylpyrene (THP) in tetralin. Sulfided iron was prepared on α-alumina, γ-alumina, and glass beads as support materials. The hypothesis of this study was that addition reactions can be suppressed under hydrogenation conditions by using iron sulfide as a low-activity catalyst in the presence of hydrogen gas and a hydrogen donor solvent, by saturating olefin intermediates. The products were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate conversion and product distribution for different catalysts and without added catalyst. The results show that sulfided iron can gi...

Nearly monodispersed 1.6 nm Ir, 2.3 nm Pd nanoparticles, 2.7 nm Pd(core)–Ir(shell) and 2.2 nm Pd–Ir alloys with mixed surface atoms were synthesised in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and studied in the atmospheric ring opening of indan. The nanoparticles and supported catalysts were characterised by UV–vis spectroscopy, TGA, TEM, EDX, TPR, XPS, ISS and XANES. The nanoparticle size and structure control allowed insights into the bimetallic catalyst functioning. As soon as two contiguous surface Ir atoms exist on the nanoparticle surface, they display the same catalytic properties, most likely through the dicarbene ring-opening mechanism. Palladium serves only as a dispersing agent in Pd(core)–Ir(shell) structures providing 100% Ir dispersion, or as an inert surface diluting metal in Pd–Ir formulations with mixed nanoparticle surface. The Pd–Ir core–shell structure allows maximum selective ring-opening yield, which is 19% higher than that for the industrial Pt–Ir catalyst.

Selective ring opening of naphthenic molecules in oil upgrading should result in no loss in molecular weight. Benzocyclopentane (indan) ring opening was studied under hydrogen atmospheric pressure at 609 K over poly-(vinylpyrrolidone)-stabilized Ru, Ir and Pd monometallic and Ru–Ir and Ru–Pd bimetallic nanocatalysts prepared by simultaneous reductions. The particle size (mostly within 2 nm) and their monodispersity were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, while X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated the bimetallics' alloy structure. Pd catalysts displayed the lowest activity in the ring opening; Ru showed the highest formation of undesired o-xylene and lights. Monometallic Ir displayed the highest activity and selectivity toward 2-ethyltoluene and n-propylbenzene. In bimetallic structures, higher Ir content led to improved catalytic performance. Next to the monometallic Ir catalyst, the newly developed Ru1Ir4/γ-Al2O3 catalyst (with 1 : 4 molar ratio of Ru to Ir) displayed superior single cleavage selectivity as well as lower cracking activity compared to industrial Pt–Ir catalysts at a comparable indan conversion. The study can pave the way in the development of Pt-free Ru-containing catalysts with narrow size distributions for selective ring opening, especially taking into consideration a possibility of their higher S-resistance as compared to the Pt catalysts.

Palladium-platinum bimetallic catalysts supported on alumina with palladium/platinum molar ratios ranging from 0.25 to 4 are studied in dry lean methane combustion in the temperature range of 200 to 500 °C. Platinum addition decreases the catalyst activity, which cannot be explained by the decrease in dispersion or the structure sensitivity of the reaction. In situ X-ray absorption near-edge structure and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy measurements have been conducted for monometallic Pd, Pt, and 2:1 Pd-Pt catalysts. Monometallic palladium is fully oxidized in the full temperature range, whereas platinum addition promotes palladium reduction, even in a reactive oxidizing environment. The Pd/PdO weight ratio in bimetallic Pd-Pt 2:1 catalysts decreases from 98/2 to 10/90 in the 200-500 °C temperature range under the reaction conditions. Thus, platinum promotes the formation of the reduced palladium phase with a significantly lower activity than that of oxidized palladium. The study sheds light on the effect of platinum on the state of the active palladium surface under low-temperature dry lean methane combustion conditions, which is important for methane-emission control devices.

Tungsten carbide-based electrodes under mixed hydrogen–methane and methane fuels have been investigated as potential anode materials for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) application. Firstly, it was shown that hydrogen is not a suitable fuel for the carbide-based materials. A conventional WC–YSZ composite and a carbide infiltrated porous YSZ support were then studied. Ac impedance spectroscopy revealed that the ohmic resistance and the charge-transfer polarization of these cells were reasonably low. The chemical reaction polarization, however, was relatively large, particularly under methane fuel. The carbide-based electrodes were then modified by incorporation of ceria and/or ruthenium. Not only did the co-existence of CeO 2 and Ru synergically enhance the cell performance, more importantly it also greatly improved the stability of the polarized cell. Although bulk phase analysis confirmed the presence of a minor amount of tungsten oxide, surface analysis showed that the oxide phase remained superficial. It was then proposed that surface oxidation of the carbide phase was essentially a part of the fuel oxidation process and, as long as the rate of carbide oxidation and that of oxide recarburization remained comparable, the cell performance was stable.

Palladium nanospheres of 2.4 and 3.8 nm diameter and nanocubes of 18 nm rib length were used to catalyze a fluorometric Tsuji-Trost reaction for the transformation of a phenyl allyl ether to a fluorescent phenol in the presence of triphenylphosphine, which was pivotal to the catalytic activity. Turnover frequencies calculated per defect atoms were found similar for all nanoparticles, indicating that these atoms are the active sites. However, kinetic studies combined with Pd leaching and transmission electron microscopy analyses in the presence of various reaction components showed Pd leaching via oxidative addition of a reactant, followed by nanoparticle growth depending on the PPh3 concentration. The formation of largest particles was found for the fastest reaction with PPh3/Pd molar ratio of 4, in the range from 0 to 9. This study shows the validity of the atomic dissolution mechanism in the reaction of interest. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.