Preparation, Characterization and Catalytic Activity of Palladium Nanoparticles Encapsulated in SBA-15

Hydrodeoxygenation of anisole over SBA-15-supported Ni, Pd, and Pt mono- and bimetallic catalysts: effect of the metal's nature on catalytic activity and selectivity

Monometallic Ni, Pd and Pt and bimetallic catalysts formed by combinations of the above metals supported on SBA-15 silica were synthesized, characterized and tested in the hydrodeoxygenation reaction of anisole. The objective of the work was to detect the effect of the nature of metals on the activity of the catalysts at different steps of anisole hydrodeoxygenation: hydrogenation of the aromatic ring of anisole and C-O bond cleavage in the intermediate cyclohexyl methyl ether. The support and the catalysts were characterized by N2 physisorption, X-ray diffraction, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, temperature-programmed reduction, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and HAADF-STEM. The catalytic activity tests were carried out in a batch reactor at 280 °C and 7.3 MPa pressure. The activity results show that the NiPd/SBA-15 catalyst had the greatest ability for hydrogenation of the aromatic ring of anisole, while its NiPt/SBA-15 analog resulted in better activity for C-O bond hydrogenolysis. The bimetallic NiPt/SBA-15 catalyst showed the best catalytic performance in the HDO of anisole ascribed to the formation of a Ni-Pt alloy. On the other hand, the combination of Pd and Pt metals in the PdPt/SBA-15 catalyst resulted in the formation of bimetallic particles with Pd-rich and Pt-rich domains, showing high selectivity for the formation of the cyclohexyl methyl ether, which can be useful for the hydrogenation of aromatic rings in O-containing reactants with the formation of saturated O-containing products. According to the characterization results (HAADF-STEM), the different catalytic behavior of NiPd/SBA-15, NiPt/SBA-15, and PdPt/SBA-15 catalysts could be attributed to different characteristics of the bimetallic active phases in them.

Comparative study between supported bimetallic catalysts for nitrate remediation in water

As the population grows and the demand for water rises, the development of efficient and sustainable water purification techniques is becoming increasingly important to ensure access to clean and safe water in the future. The pollution of surface and groundwater by nitrate ( NO 3 − {\text{NO}}_{3}^{-} ) is a growing global concern due to the rise in nitrogen-rich waste released from agriculture and industry. The removal of nitrate ions from aqueous media using bimetallic catalysts loaded on several supports was studied. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes, activated carbon, titanium dioxide, titanium dioxide/multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and Santa Barbara Amorphous-15 were used as supports to synthesize these bimetallic catalysts. The effects of the support type, supported metal, and catalyst reduction method on the nitrate reduction activity in water were investigated. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm, inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy, and field emission gun scanning transmission electron microscope. In terms of nitrate conversion, high-temperature hydrogen reduction of the catalysts was a more effective method of catalyst preparation than NaBH4 reduction. Except for the carbon nanotube-TiO2 composite, pH fixation using CO2 flow improved the efficiency of supported catalysts. The catalysts 1Pd–1Cu/TiO2 and 1Pd–Cu/SBA-15 presented the highest catalytic activity, but the latter was the most selective to nitrogen.

The study of the characteristics and hydrolysis properties of naringinase immobilized by porous silica material

Silica material has high specific surface area and excellent chemical stability, which make it useful for enzyme immobilization. In this work, naringinase was immobilized from fermentation broth of Aspergillus niger FFCC uv-11 by silica materials with different pore diameters of 2 nm (MCM-41), 7.7 nm (SBA-15) and 80 nm (silica gel). It was shown that SBA-15 had the highest naringinase activity, and this was chosen as a suitable carrier material for naringinase immobilization. First, SBA-15 was modified by glutaraldehyde at a concentration of 7% at 25 °C for 2 h, and it was then used for the immobilization of naringinase. At pH 3.5, the immobilized naringinase activity reached 467.62 U g⁻¹ at 40 °C for 4 h when the initial naringinase activity was 89.04 U mL⁻¹. Furthermore, at the optimal reaction temperature of 45 °C and pH of 4.5, the binding efficiency, activity recovery rate and specific activity of the immobilized naringinase were 63.66%, 87.64% and 517.43 U g⁻¹, respectively. Compared with free naringinase, in naringin hydrolysis, the immobilized naringinase performed over a wide pH application range and had good thermal stability. Even more important, the immobilized naringinase retained 61.81% of the residual naringinase activity after eight consecutive cycles, and kept 80.95% of the residual naringinase activity after one month of storage. This study provides an ideal carrier material and some basic data for naringinase immobilization technology, which will greatly promote the application of naringinase in industrial fruit juice processing.

SBA-15 is an innovative silica material for naringinase immobilization, which achieved improved naringinase activity and had excellent hydrolysis properties.

Effect of size of catalytically active phases in the dehydrogenation of alcohols and the challenging selective oxidation of hydrocarbons

The size of the active phase is one of the most important factors in determining the catalytic behaviour of a heterogeneous catalyst. This Feature Article focuses on the size effects in two types of reactions, i.e., the metal nanoparticle-catalysed dehydrogenation of alcohols and the metal oxide nanocluster-catalysed selective oxidation of hydrocarbons (including the selective oxidation of methane and ethane and the epoxidation of propylene). For Pd or Au nanoparticle-catalysed oxidative or non-oxidative dehydrogenation of alcohols, the size of metal nanoparticles mainly controls the catalytic activity by affecting the activation of reactants (either alcohol or O(2)). The size of oxidic molybdenum species loaded on SBA-15 determines not only the activity but also the selectivity of oxygenates in the selective oxidation of ethane; highly dispersed molybdenum species are suitable for acetaldehyde formation, while molybdenum oxide nanoparticles exhibit higher formaldehyde selectivity. Cu(II) and Fe(III) isolated on mesoporous silica are highly efficient for the selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde, while the corresponding oxide clusters mainly catalyse the complete oxidation of methane. The lattice oxygen in iron or copper oxide clusters is responsible for the complete oxidation, while the isolated Cu(I) or Fe(II) generated during the reaction can activate molecular oxygen forming active oxygen species for the selective oxidation of methane. Highly dispersed Cu(I) and Fe(II) species also function for the epoxidation of propylene by O(2) and N(2)O, respectively. Alkali metal ions work as promoters for the epoxidation of propylene by enhancing the dispersion of copper or iron species and weakening the acidity.

Ligand-assisted preparation of highly active and stable nanometric Pd confined catalysts for deep catalytic oxidation of toluene

In this study, mesoporous SBA-15 supported Pd catalysts were synthesized through impregnation and grafting approaches. Moreover, the influences of different solvents (ethanol, H(2)O, tetrahydrofuran, dimethyl sulphoxide and N,N-dimethylformamide) on the dispersion of supported Pd nanoparticles were also systematically investigated. The prepared materials were comprehensively explored by various techniques, including XRD, EDS, ICP-OES, H(2) chemisorption, N(2) adsorption/desorption, TG-DSC, FT-IR, TEM and STEM. It is found that the traditional impregnation method has some disadvantages in obtaining highly dispersed Pd active phase. Whereas, the grafting method could highly disperse Pd nanoparticles within the mesoporous channels of support material, and the grafting procedure should be promising in designing highly dispersed Pd particles on the silica-based mesoporous materials. The catalyst prepared via the grafting procedure possesses much higher activity and selectivity than that prepared by impregnation method for deep catalytic oxidation of toluene.

Pd-nanoparticles cause increased toxicity to kiwifruit pollen compared to soluble Pd(II)

In the present study, endpoints including in vitro pollen performance (i.e., germination and tube growth) and lethality were used as assessments of nanotoxicity. Pollen was treated with 5-10 nm-sized Pd particles, similar to those released into the environment by catalytic car exhaust converters. Results showed Pd-nanoparticles altered kiwifruit pollen morphology and entered the grains more rapidly and to a greater extent than soluble Pd(II). At particulate Pd concentrations well below those of soluble Pd(II), pollen grains experienced rapid losses in endogenous calcium and pollen plasma membrane damage was induced. This resulted in severe inhibition and subsequent cessation of pollen tube emergence and elongation at particulate Pd concentrations as low as 0.4 mg L(-1). Particulate Pd emissions related to automobile traffic have been increasing and are accumulating in the environment. This could seriously jeopardize in vivo pollen function, with impacts at an ecosystem level.

Embedded phases: a way to active and stable catalysts

Industrial catalysts are typically made of nanosized metal particles, carried by a solid support. The extremely small size of the particles maximizes the surface area exposed to the reactant, leading to higher reactivity. Moreover, the higher the number of metal atoms in contact with the support, the better the catalyst performance. In addition, peculiar properties have been observed for some metal/metal oxide particles of critical sizes. However, thermal stability of these nanostructures is limited by their size; smaller the particle size, the lower the thermal stability. The ability to fabricate and control the structure of nanoparticles allows to influence the resulting properties and, ultimately, to design stable catalysts with the desired characteristics. Tuning particle sizes provides the possibility to modulate the catalytic activity. Unique and unexpected properties have been observed by confining/embedding metal nanoparticles in inorganic channels or cavities, which indeed offers new opportunities for the design of advanced catalytic systems. Innovation in catalyst design is a powerful tool in realizing the goals of more green, efficient and sustainable industrial processes. The present Review focuses on the catalytic performance of noble metal- and non precious metal-based embedded catalysts with respect to traditional impregnated systems. Emphasis is dedicated to the improved thermal stability of these nanostructures compared to conventional systems.