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Werny MJ, Meirer F, Weckhuysen BM. Visualizing the Structure, Composition and Activity of Single Catalyst Particles for Olefin Polymerization and Polyolefin Decomposition. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202306033. [PMID: 37782261 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202306033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
The structural and morphological characterization of individual catalyst particles for olefin polymerization, as well as for the reverse process of polyolefin decomposition, can provide an improved understanding for how these catalyst materials operate under relevant reaction conditions. In this review, we discuss an emerging analytical toolbox of 2D and 3D chemical imaging techniques that is suitable for investigating the chemistry and reactivity of related catalyst systems. While synchrotron-based X-ray microscopy still provides unparalleled spatial resolutions in 2D and 3D, a number of laboratory-based techniques, most notably focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy, confocal fluorescence microscopy, infrared photoinduced force microscopy and laboratory-based X-ray nano-computed tomography, have helped to significantly expand the arsenal of analytical tools available to scientists in heterogeneous catalysis and polymer science. In terms of future research, the review outlines the role and impact of in situ and operando (spectro-)microscopy experiments, involving sophisticated reactors as well as online reactant and product analysis, to obtain real-time information on the formation, decomposition, and mobility of polymer phases within single catalyst particles. Furthermore, the potential of fluorescence microscopy, X-ray microscopy and optical microscopy is highlighted for the high-throughput characterization of olefin polymerization and polyolefin decomposition catalysts. By combining these chemical imaging techniques with, for example, chemical staining methodologies, selective probe molecules as well as particle sorting approaches, representative structure-activity relationships can be derived at the level of single catalyst particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian J Werny
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584, CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI), P.O. Box 902, 5600, AX Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Florian Meirer
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584, CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Bert M Weckhuysen
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Institute for Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584, CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
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2
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Vollenbroek JC, Nieuwelink AE, Bomer JG, Tiggelaar RM, van den Berg A, Weckhuysen BM, Odijk M. Droplet microreactor for high-throughput fluorescence-based measurements of single catalyst particle acidity. MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING 2023; 9:39. [PMID: 37007606 PMCID: PMC10060574 DOI: 10.1038/s41378-023-00495-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The particles of heterogeneous catalysts differ greatly in size, morphology, and most importantly, in activity. Studying these catalyst particles in batch typically results in ensemble averages, without any information at the level of individual catalyst particles. To date, the study of individual catalyst particles has been rewarding but is still rather slow and often cumbersome1. Furthermore, these valuable in-depth studies at the single particle level lack statistical relevance. Here, we report the development of a droplet microreactor for high-throughput fluorescence-based measurements of the acidities of individual particles in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) equilibrium catalysts (ECAT). This method combines systematic screening of single catalyst particles with statistical relevance. An oligomerization reaction of 4-methoxystyrene, catalyzed by the Brønsted acid sites inside the zeolite domains of the ECAT particles, was performed on-chip at 95 °C. The fluorescence signal generated by the reaction products inside the ECAT particles was detected near the outlet of the microreactor. The high-throughput acidity screening platform was capable of detecting ~1000 catalyst particles at a rate of 1 catalyst particle every 2.4 s. The number of detected catalyst particles was representative of the overall catalyst particle population with a confidence level of 95%. The measured fluorescence intensities showed a clear acidity distribution among the catalyst particles, with the majority (96.1%) showing acidity levels belonging to old, deactivated catalyst particles and a minority (3.9%) exhibiting high acidity levels. The latter are potentially of high interest, as they reveal interesting new physicochemical properties indicating why the particles were still highly acidic and reactive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeroen C. Vollenbroek
- BIOS Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Hallenweg 15, 7522 NH Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Anne-Eva Nieuwelink
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Johan G. Bomer
- BIOS Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Hallenweg 15, 7522 NH Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Roald M. Tiggelaar
- NanoLab Cleanroom, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Hallenweg 15, 7522 NH Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Albert van den Berg
- BIOS Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Hallenweg 15, 7522 NH Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Bert M. Weckhuysen
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Mathieu Odijk
- BIOS Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute, University of Twente, Hallenweg 15, 7522 NH Enschede, The Netherlands
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3
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Nieuwelink AE, Vollenbroek JC, Tiggelaar RM, Bomer JG, van den Berg A, Odijk M, Weckhuysen BM. High-throughput activity screening and sorting of single catalyst particles with a droplet microreactor using dielectrophoresis. Nat Catal 2021. [DOI: 10.1038/s41929-021-00718-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Nieuwelink A, Velthoen MEZ, Nederstigt YCM, Jagtenberg KL, Meirer F, Weckhuysen BM. Single Particle Assays to Determine Heterogeneities within Fluid Catalytic Cracking Catalysts. Chemistry 2020; 26:8546-8554. [PMID: 32112709 PMCID: PMC7384009 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201905880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anne‐Eva Nieuwelink
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science Utrecht University Universiteitsweg 99 3584 CG Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Marjolein E. Z. Velthoen
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science Utrecht University Universiteitsweg 99 3584 CG Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Yoni C. M. Nederstigt
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science Utrecht University Universiteitsweg 99 3584 CG Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Kristel L. Jagtenberg
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science Utrecht University Universiteitsweg 99 3584 CG Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Florian Meirer
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science Utrecht University Universiteitsweg 99 3584 CG Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Bert M. Weckhuysen
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science Utrecht University Universiteitsweg 99 3584 CG Utrecht The Netherlands
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5
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Solsona M, Nieuwelink A, Meirer F, Abelmann L, Odijk M, Olthuis W, Weckhuysen BM, van den Berg A. Magnetophoretic Sorting of Single Catalyst Particles. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201804942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Solsona
- BIOS lab on a chip groupMESA+ Institute for NanotechnologyUniversity of Twente Drienerlolaan 5 Enschede The Netherlands
| | - Anne‐Eva Nieuwelink
- Inorganic Chemistry and CatalysisDebye Institute for Nanomaterials ScienceUtrecht University Universiteitsweg 99 3584 CG Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Florian Meirer
- Inorganic Chemistry and CatalysisDebye Institute for Nanomaterials ScienceUtrecht University Universiteitsweg 99 3584 CG Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Leon Abelmann
- BIOS lab on a chip groupMESA+ Institute for NanotechnologyUniversity of Twente Drienerlolaan 5 Enschede The Netherlands
- KIST Europe Campus E7 Saarbrücken Germany
| | - Mathieu Odijk
- BIOS lab on a chip groupMESA+ Institute for NanotechnologyUniversity of Twente Drienerlolaan 5 Enschede The Netherlands
| | - Wouter Olthuis
- BIOS lab on a chip groupMESA+ Institute for NanotechnologyUniversity of Twente Drienerlolaan 5 Enschede The Netherlands
| | - Bert M. Weckhuysen
- Inorganic Chemistry and CatalysisDebye Institute for Nanomaterials ScienceUtrecht University Universiteitsweg 99 3584 CG Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Albert van den Berg
- BIOS lab on a chip groupMESA+ Institute for NanotechnologyUniversity of Twente Drienerlolaan 5 Enschede The Netherlands
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Solsona M, Nieuwelink AE, Meirer F, Abelmann L, Odijk M, Olthuis W, Weckhuysen BM, van den Berg A. Magnetophoretic Sorting of Single Catalyst Particles. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2018; 57:10589-10594. [PMID: 29962102 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201804942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
A better understanding of the deactivation processes taking place within solid catalysts is vital to design better ones. However, since inter-particle heterogeneities are more a rule than an exception, particle sorting is crucial to analyse single catalyst particles in detail. Microfluidics offers new possibilities to sort catalysts at the single particle level. Herein, we report a first-of-its-kind 3D printed magnetophoretic chip able to sort catalyst particles by their magnetic moment. Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) particles were separated based on their Fe content. Magnetophoretic sorting shows that large Fe aggregates exist within 20 % of the FCC particles with the highest Fe content. The availability of Brønsted acid sites decreases with increasing Fe content. This work paves the way towards a high-throughput catalyst diagnostics platform to determine why specific catalyst particles perform better than others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Solsona
- BIOS lab on a chip group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Anne-Eva Nieuwelink
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584, CG, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Florian Meirer
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584, CG, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Leon Abelmann
- BIOS lab on a chip group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, Enschede, The Netherlands.,KIST Europe, Campus E7, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Mathieu Odijk
- BIOS lab on a chip group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Wouter Olthuis
- BIOS lab on a chip group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - Bert M Weckhuysen
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584, CG, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Albert van den Berg
- BIOS lab on a chip group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, Enschede, The Netherlands
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7
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Blay V, Louis B, Miravalles R, Yokoi T, Peccatiello KA, Clough M, Yilmaz B. Engineering Zeolites for Catalytic Cracking to Light Olefins. ACS Catal 2017. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.7b02011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Blay
- Departamento
de Ingeniería Química, Universitat de València, Av.
de la Universitat, s/n, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
| | - Benoît Louis
- Laboratoire
de Synthèse Réactivité Organiques et Catalyse,
Institut de Chimie, UMR 7177 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 1 rue
Blaise Pascal, 67000 CEDEX Strasbourg, France
| | - Rubén Miravalles
- Centro de Tecnología Repsol, C/Agustín de Betancourt s/n, 28935 Móstoles, Spain
| | - Toshiyuki Yokoi
- Institute
of Innovative Research, Chemical Resources Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan
| | - Ken A. Peccatiello
- Peccatiello
Engineering,
Catalytic Cracking Solutions, LLC, Moriarity, New Mexico 87035, United States
| | - Melissa Clough
- BASF Refinery Catalysts, 11750 Katy Fwy. Ste. 120, Houston, Texas 77079, United States
| | - Bilge Yilmaz
- BASF Refinery Catalysts, 25 Middlesex-Essex
Tpk., Iselin, New Jersey 08830, United States
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