Effects of zirconia phase on the synthesis of higher alcohols over zirconia and modified zirconia

The Effects of the Crystalline Phase of Zirconia on C–O Activation and C–C Coupling in Converting Syngas into Aromatics

Zirconia has recently been used as an efficient catalyst in the conversion of syngas. The crystalline phases of ZrO2 in ZrO2/HZSM-5 bi-functional catalysts have important effects on C–O activation and C–C coupling in converting syngas into aromatics and been investigated in this work. Monoclinic ZrO2 (m-ZrO2) and tetragonal ZrO2 (t-ZrO2) were synthesized by hydrothermal and chemical precipitation methods, respectively. The results of in situ diffuse reflection infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTs) revealed that there were more active hydroxyl groups existing on the surface of m-ZrO2, and CO temperature programmed desorption (CO-TPD) results indicated that the CO adsorption capacity of m-ZrO2 was higher than that of t-ZrO2, which can facilitate the C–O activation of m-ZrO2 for syngas conversion compared to that of t-ZrO2. And the CO conversion on the m-ZrO2 catalyst was about 50% more than that on the t-ZrO2 catalyst. 31P and 13C magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) analysis revealed a higher acid and base density of m-ZrO2 than that of t-ZrO2, which enhanced the C–C coupling. The selectivity to CH4 on the m-ZrO2 catalyst was about 1/5 of that on the t-ZrO2 catalyst in syngas conversion. The selectivity to C2+ hydrocarbons over m-ZrO2 or t-ZrO2 as well as the proximity of the ZrO2 sample and HZSM-5 greatly affected the further aromatization in converting syngas into aromatics.

Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia as a High-Performance Catalyst for Ethanol to n-Butanol Guerbet Coupling

It has been shown that yttria-stabilized zirconia is an effective catalyst for ethanol to n-butanol Guerbet coupling. The variation of the calcination temperature allows an improvement in the catalytic characteristics of this material via stabilization of the tetragonal phase of zirconia, having higher basicity than the monoclinic one. The treatment of yttria-stabilized zirconia at an optimal calcination temperature of 500 °C induces the increase in surface basicity required for the aldol condensation step, along with a decrease in surface acidity, which is responsible for the side reaction such as ethylene formation. The catalyst obtained significantly exceeds in selectivity and n-butanol yield than individual zirconia and other oxide systems which have been studied in this reaction.

Effect of Preparation Method on ZrO2-Based Catalysts Performance for Isobutanol Synthesis from Syngas

Two types of amorphous ZrO2 (am-ZrO2) catalysts were prepared by different co-precipitation/reflux digestion methods (with ethylenediamine and ammonia as the precipitant respectively). Then, copper and potassium were introduced for modifying ZrO2 via an impregnation method to enhance the catalytic performance. The obtained catalysts were further characterized by means of Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface areas (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), H2-temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), and In situ diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (in situ DRIFTS). CO hydrogenation experiments were performed in a fixed-bed reactor for isobutanol synthesis. Great differences were observed on the distribution of alcohols over the two types of ZrO2 catalysts, which were promoted with the same content of Cu and K. The selectivity of isobutanol on K-CuZrO2 (ammonia as precipitant, A-KCZ) was three times higher than that on K-CuZrO2 (ethylenediamine as precipitant, E-KCZ). The characterization results indicated that the A-KCZ catalyst supplied more active hydroxyls (isolated hydroxyls) for anchoring and dispersing Cu. More importantly, it was found that bicarbonate species were formed, which were ascribed as important C1 species for isobutanol formation on the A-KCZ catalyst surface. These C1 intermediates had relatively stronger adsorption strength than those adsorbed on the E-KCZ catalyst, indicating that the bicarbonate species on the A-KCZ catalyst had a longer residence time for further carbon chain growth. Therefore, the selectivity of isobutanol was greatly enhanced. These findings would extend the horizontal of direct alcohols synthesis from syngas.

Phase Control in Inorganic Nanocrystals through Finely Tuned Growth at an Ultrathin Scale

Crystalline polymorphs have been considered a prevailing phenomenon in inorganic nanocrystals and provide approaches to modulate fundamental properties and innovative advanced applications. As a basic demand for phase engineering, accessible and controllable synthetic methodologies are indispensable for acquisition of high-quality products in expected phases. Phase stability is also a non-negligible issue that determines continuous gains of functionality and long-term sustainability of characteristic features. Maintaining structural stability of metastable phases provides challenges and opportunities for investigations on fascinating properties and intriguing applications of inorganic nanocrystals. Phase engineering is of great significance to acquire metallic (1T) and semiconducting (2H) Mo- and W-based dichalcogenides for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR), respectively. The catalysts in 1T phase have superior electron transfer kinetics and abundant active sites on both basal planes and edges for HER, while ones in 2H phase are preferentially deployed for CO₂RR to utilize edge sites for catalysis and restrain competitive HER activity. In addition, the photocatalytic performance for HER has been enhanced by combining anatase and rutile phases because electron transfer between the two phases during photocatalysis facilitates the separation of charge carriers and thus impedes the recombination of electron-hole pairs. Although ample effort has been devoted to developing phase engineering, principle understanding at an ultrathin scale remains obscure. In this Account, we provide comprehensive insight into work from our group regarding controllable synthesis of inorganic nanocrystals with phase engineering, critical effects on phase stability, and noteworthy studies on phase-related properties and applications. For bulk materials, phase control and transition have a large energy barrier, so they can only be achieved under rigorous conditions. However, at the initial stage of synthesis, especially for nucleation, there are a small quantity of chemical bonds that contribute to regulate phase and structure with ease. In our work, we mainly modulate nucleation and growth at an ultrathin scale to demonstrate facile approaches for phase engineering. This unique perspective makes for a distinct guidance of controllable synthesis and deliberate stabilization of inorganic nanomaterials with phase engineering. We have developed a series of synthetic strategies for phase engineering to fabricate inorganic nanocrystals in a specific phase with controlled size and composition and adjustable morphologies and surface features. Four sorts of models (MoS₂, ZrO₂, In₂O₃, and TiO₂) are used for demonstrating finely tuned growth at an ultrathin scale. However, phase engineering has been regarded as immature because only one phase in polymorphs is thermodynamically stable generally. Phase stability of metastable nanocrystals has attracted much interest. Our substantial investigations illustrate several crucial factors on phase stability, leading to inspiration for facilitating persistent emergence of characteristics and functionalities. By full use of the features of a specific phase, we spotlight ligand-induced surface interactions on coverage-dependent electronic structures and chemisorption effects at one-unit thickness of TiO₂(B) nanomaterials with phase engineering. Meanwhile, an energy conversion system for overall water splitting (OWS) drives forward steps in function-oriented synthesis of MoS₂-based nanomaterials with phase engineering. In the last section, we summarize this theme and highlight several promising directions for future development.

Insight into the branched alcohol formation mechanism on K–ZnCr catalysts from syngas

The first C–C bond formation is from the reaction of CO and CHO (formyl) on the K–ZnCr catalysts.

Binary ZnO/Zn–Cr nanospinel catalysts prepared by a hydrothermal method for isobutanol synthesis from syngas

A series of binary ZnO/Zn–Cr nanospinel catalysts were prepared by a hydrothermal method and applied in direct synthesis of isobutanol from syngas, during which the effect of the hydrothermal time/temperature on their catalytic performance in the isobutanol synthesis has been investigated at 400 °C and 10 MPa.

High Thermal Stability of La2O3- and CeO2-Stabilized Tetragonal ZrO2

Catalyst support materials of tetragonal ZrO2, stabilized by either La2O3 (La2O3-ZrO2) or CeO2 (CeO2-ZrO2), were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions at 200 °C with NH4OH or tetramethylammonium hydroxide as the mineralizer. From in situ synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and small-angle X-ray scattering measurements, the calcined La2O3-ZrO2 and CeO2-ZrO2 supports were nonporous nanocrystallites that exhibited rectangular shapes with a thermal stability of up to 1000 °C in air. These supports had an average size of ∼ 10 nm and a surface area of 59-97 m(2)/g. The catalysts Pt/La2O3-ZrO2 and Pt/CeO2-ZrO2 were prepared by using atomic layer deposition with varying Pt loadings from 6.3 to 12.4 wt %. Monodispersed Pt nanoparticles of ∼ 3 nm were obtained for these catalysts. The incorporation of La2O3 and CeO2 into the t-ZrO2 structure did not affect the nature of the active sites for the Pt/ZrO2 catalysts for the water-gas shift reaction.

Chemical vapor deposition-prepared sub-nanometer Zr clusters on Pd surfaces: promotion of methane dry reforming

An inverse Pd–Zr model catalyst was prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using zirconium-t-butoxide (ZTB) as an organometallic precursor.

Nano zirconia catalysed one-pot synthesis of some novel substituted imidazoles under solvent-free conditions

A highly efficient method for the synthesis of substituted imidazoles from a multicomponent reaction of isatin derivatives with ammonium acetate and aromatic aldehydes under solvent-free conditions has been established.

Hydrogen Surface Reactions and Adsorption Studied on Y2O3, YSZ, and ZrO2

The surface reactivity of Y₂O₃, YSZ, and ZrO₂ polycrystalline powder samples toward H₂ has been comparatively studied by a pool of complementary experimental techniques, comprising volumetric methods (temperature-programmed volumetric adsorption/oxidation and thermal desorption spectrometry), spectroscopic techniques (in situ electric impedance and in situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), and eventually structural characterization methods (X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy). Reduction has been observed on all three oxides to most likely follow a surface or near-surface-limited mechanism involving removal of surface OH-groups and associated formation of water without formation of a significant number of anionic oxygen vacancies. Partly reversible adsorption of H₂ was proven on the basis of molecular H₂ desorption. Dictated by the specific hydrophilicity of the oxide, readsorption of water eventually takes place. The inference of this surface-restricted mechanism is further corroborated by the fact that no bulk structural and/or morphological changes were observed upon reduction even at the highest reduction temperatures (1173 K). We anticipate relevant implications for the use of especially YSZ in fuel cell research, since in particular the chemical state and structure of the surface under typical reducing high-temperature conditions affects the operation of the entire cell.

Microwave synthesis, characterization, and photoluminescence properties of nanocrystalline zirconia

We report synthesis of ZrO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) using microwave assisted chemical method at 80°C temperature. Synthesized ZrO₂ NPs were calcinated at 400°C under air atmosphere and characterized using FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, and EDS for their formation, structure, morphology, size, and elemental composition. XRD results revealed the formation of mixed phase monoclinic and tetragonal ZrO₂ phases having crystallite size of the order 8.8 nm from most intense XRD peak as obtained using Scherrer formula. Electron microscope analysis shows that the NPs were less than 10 nm and highly uniform in size having spherical morphology. BET surface area of ZrO₂ NPs was found to be 65.85 m²/g with corresponding particle size of 16 nm. The band gap of synthesized NPs was found to be 2.49 eV and PL spectra of ZrO₂ synthesized NPs showed strong peak at 414 nm, which corresponds to near band edge emission (UV emission) and a relatively weak peak at 475 and 562 nm.

A versatile aqueous reduction of bio-based carboxylic acids using syngas as a hydrogen source

Syngas as a versatile hydrogen source: Using readily available and economically favorable syngas as a convenient hydrogen source, an efficient and sustainable aqueous reduction of bio-based carboxylic acids has been achieved over a highly robust catalyst system consisting of gold nanoparticles supported on acid-tolerant single-phase monoclinic zirconia (Au/m-ZrO(2)). A range of bio-based multifunctional carboxylic acids have been selectively converted into their corresponding lactones or diols in high to excellent yields.

Facile synthesis of pure monoclinic and tetragonal zirconia nanoparticles and their phase effects on the behavior of supported molybdena catalysts for methanol-selective oxidation

Pure monoclinic (m) and tetragonal (t) zirconia nanoparticles were readily synthesized from the reaction of inorganic zirconium salts (e.g., hydrated zirconyl nitrate) and urea in water and methanol, respectively, via a facile solvothermal method. The role of the solvents was crucial in the formation of the pure ZrO(2) phases, whereas their purity was essentially insensitive to other variables, including reaction temperature, reactant concentration, pH, and zirconium salts. Water as the solvent led to the transformation of hydrous ZrO(2) precipitates initially formed with tetragonal structures to thermodynamically more stable m-ZrO(2) via the dissolution-precipitation process, whereas methanol favored the removal of water molecules from the precursors via their reaction with urea, consequently maintaining the tetragonal structures. The obtained tetragonal samples were found to possess superior hydrothermal stability compared to those reported previously, which provides the possibility for systematically studying the effects of ZrO(2) phases on many catalytic reactions involving water as a reactant or product. Using these pure m- and t-ZrO(2) phases as supports, dispersed MoO(x) catalysts were synthesized at MoO(x) surface densities of approximately 5.0 Mo/nm(2), which is close to one monolayer of coverage. Characterization by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the pure ZrO(2) phases remained unchanged in the presence of the MoO(x) domains and the MoO(x) domains existed preferentially as 2D polymolybdate structures. The catalysts were subsequently examined for selective methanol oxidation as a test reaction. m-ZrO(2) support led to 2-fold greater oxidation rates than for t-ZrO(2) support, reflecting the higher intrinsic reactivity of the MoO(x) domains on m-ZrO(2). This is consistent with their higher reducibility probed by temperature-programmed reduction with H(2) (H(2) TPR). These observed effects of the ZrO(2) phases provide the basis for designing catalysts with tunable redox properties and reactivity.