Oscillating reactions in heterogeneous catalysis: What new information can be obtained about reaction mechanisms?

Oscillations and patterns in a model of simultaneous CO and C2H2 oxidation and NO(x) reduction in a cross-flow reactor

A model describing simultaneous catalytic oxidation of CO and C2H2 and reduction of NOx in a cross-flow tubular reactor is explored with the aim of relating spatiotemporal patterns to specific pathways in the mechanism. For that purpose, a detailed mechanism proposed for three-way catalytic converters is split into two subsystems, (i) simultaneous oxidation of CO and C2H2, and (ii) oxidation of CO combined with NOx reduction. The ability of these two subsystems to display mechanism-specific dynamical effects is studied initially by neglecting transport phenomena and applying stoichiometric network and bifurcation analyses. We obtain inlet temperature - inlet oxygen concentration bifurcation diagrams, where each region possessing specific dynamics - oscillatory, bistable and excitable - is associated with a dominant reaction pathway. Next, the spatiotemporal behaviour due to reaction kinetics combined with transport processes is studied. The observed spatiotemporal patterns include phase waves, travelling fronts, pulse waves and spatiotemporal chaos. Although these types of pattern occur generally when the kinetic scheme possesses autocatalysis, we find that some of their properties depend on the underlying dominant reaction pathway. The relation of patterns to specific reaction pathways is discussed.

Characterizing nano-scale electrocatalysis during partial oxidation of methane

Electrochemical analysis allows in situ characterization of solid oxide electrochemical cells (SOCs) under operating conditions. However, the SOCs that have been analyzed in this way have ill-defined or uncommon microstructures in terms of porosity and tortuosity. Therefore, the nano-scale characterization of SOCs with respect to three-phase boundaries has been hindered. We introduce novel in situ electrochemical analysis for SOCs that uses combined solid electrolyte potentiometry (SEP) and impedance measurements. This method is employed to investigate the oscillatory behavior of a porous Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anode during the partial oxidation of methane under ambient pressure at 800°C. The cyclic oxidation and reduction of nickel induces the oscillatory behavior in the impedance and electrode potential. The in situ characterization of the nickel surface suggests that the oxidation of the nickel occurs predominantly at the two-phase boundaries, whereas the nickel at the three-phase boundaries remains in the metallic state during the cyclic redox reaction.