Microcalorimetric characterisation of acid–basic catalysts

Gas-Phase Hydrogenation of Furfural to Furfuryl Alcohol over Cu-ZnO-Al2O3 Catalysts Prepared from Layered Double Hydroxides

Several layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with general chemical composition (Cu,Zn)1−xAlx(OH)2(CO3)x/2·mH2O have been synthesized by the co-precipitation method, maintaining a (M2+/M3+) molar ratio of 3, and varying the Cu2+/Zn2+ molar ratio between 0.2 and 6.0. After calcination and reduction steps, Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalysts were synthesized. These catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), H2 thermoprogrammed reduction (H2-TPR), N2 adsorption-desorption at −196 °C, N2O titration, X-ray photoelectron miscroscopy (XPS), NH3-thermoprogramed desorption (NH3-TPD) and CO2- thermoprogrammed desorption (CO2-TPD). The characterization data revealed that these catalysts are mainly meso-and macroporous, where Cu, ZnO and Al2O3 are well dispersed. The catalytic results show that these catalysts are active in the gas-phase hydrogenation of furfural, being highly selective to furfuryl alcohol (FOL) and reaching the highest FOL yield for the catalyst with a Cu2+/Zn2+ molar ratio of 1. In an additional study, the influence of the aging time on the synthesis of the LDHs was also evaluated. The catalytic data revealed that the use of shorter aging time in the formation of the LDH has a beneficial effect on the catalytic behavior, since more disordered structures with a higher amount of available Cu sites is obtained, leading to a higher yield towards FOL (71% after 5 h of time-on-stream at 210 °C).

A microscopic model of the Tian-Calvet microcalorimeter, cell design for a faster response, and measurement by a continuous procedure

The transient heat conduction equation was used as the microscopic model of the Tian-Calvet microcalorimeter. It was verified by comparing simulated and experimental calorimetric curves and used to guide sample cell design for a faster response time, for which it gave the guidelines to minimize the heat flow distance and use a heat flux that is uniform and onto the whole face of the thermopile sensor. The resulting sample cell was disc-shaped with the sample powder placed in it as a thin 0.2 mm layer on a stainless steel base with a wall thickness of 0.5 mm that covered the whole face of the thermopile on which it was placed. The rise time of the heat response curve to a step change in sample temperature, which is the response time for measuring the differential heat released, was 45 s. The response curve from a gas dose returned to the baseline within 400 s, which is the time needed to measure the integrated heat in a pulsed dosage. The accuracy of the heats measured by the calorimeter was verified by comparison with data in the literature on the adsorption of ethanol and ammonia on HZSM-5 and adsorption of methanol and ammonia on SAPO-34. The differential heat of methanol adsorption on SAPO-34 at 333 K and ammonia adsorption on HZSM-5 at 423 K were measured by both the conventional discontinuous procedure and a new continuous procedure. In the continuous procedure, gas was continuously dosed at a very slow flow rate that was kept slow enough for the gas and adsorbate to reach quasi-equilibrium. The continuous procedure has the advantages of high resolution results and a simpler experimental procedure, and a calorimetric curve could be measured within 3 h.

Comparative study of the active sites in zeolites by different probe molecules

This review summarizes some of the recently published results concerning the acid sites in the zeolites ZSM-5 and Y studied by temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and adsorption calorimetry using different probe molecules NH3, CO, N2O and n-hexane. For the first time it has been shown that the acid sites in hydrated zeolites are accessible for n-hexane adsorption.