Remote Control of Catalytic Sites by Spillover Species: A Chemical Reaction Engineering Approach∗

Environmental catalysts advance focused on lattice oxygen for the decomposition of harmful organic compounds

The recent industrial growth has made our lives more comfortable; however, it has led to an increase in the concentration of harmful compounds, such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds (e.g., toluene), and phenolic compounds (e.g., phenol and cresol), in the environment. Catalytic oxidation using environmental catalysts is an important method for the removal of harmful compounds. To date, novel environmental catalysts have been developed from unique concepts based on solid-state ionics. In particular, the oxygen supply ability of a promoter can supply active oxygen from inside the lattice to the catalytically active site. Our catalysts exhibited high activity for the oxidation of harmful chemicals under moderate conditions in both the gaseous and liquid phases compared to conventional catalysts. This short review article describes our concepts of material design and our novel catalysts (ceria-zirconia (CeO2-ZrO2), apatite-type lanthanum silicate (La10Si6O27), and lanthanum oxyfluoride (LaOF) based catalysts).

Hydrogen Spillover-Enhanced Heterogeneously Catalyzed Hydrodeoxygenation for Biomass Upgrading

Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is regarded as a promising technology for biomass upgrading to obtain sustainable and competitive chemicals and fuels. In fact, biomass HDO over heterogeneous solid catalysts is often accompanied by the phenomenon of hydrogen spillover, which further affects the catalytic performance. Thus, it is necessary to gain in-depth understand the promoting effect of hydrogen spillover in the biomass HDO process to obtain desired conversion and selectivity. This Review summarized the extensive research on hydrogen spillover in biomass refining and discussed in detail the regulation mechanism of hydrogen spillover in biomass HDO process, mainly by regulating different active center sites on catalyst supports, such as metal sites, acid sites, surface functional groups, and defective sites, which exhibit independent and synergistic characteristics promoting catalyst activity, selectivity, and stability. Finally, the prospective of hydrogen spillover in biomass HDO applications was critically evaluated, and the key technical challenges in developing "hydrogen-free" HDO and upgrading biofuels were highlighted. The presentation of hydrogen spillover-enhanced catalytic biomass HDO in this Review will hopefully provide insight and guidance for further development of efficient catalysts and preparation of high-value chemicals in the future.

Competition between reactive adsorption desulfurization and olefin hydrogenation over the NiO/ZnO–Al2O3–SiO2 adsorbent

The RADS process inhibits olefin hydrogenation by competitive adsorption, which is affected by temperature and Ni loading.

Iron molybdate catalysts synthesised via dicarboxylate decomposition for the partial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde

Iron molybdate catalysts were prepared using a sol gel route with malonic acid and oxalic acid and their performance for the selective oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde was evaluated.

Isolated Pd atoms in a silver matrix: Spectroscopic and chemical properties

Over the past decade, single-atom alloys (SAAs) have been a lively topic of research due to their potential for achieving novel catalytic properties and circumventing some known limitations of heterogeneous catalysts, such as scaling relationships. In researching SAAs, it is important to recognize experimental evidence of peculiarities in their electronic structure. When an isolated atom is embedded in a matrix of foreign atoms, it exhibits spectroscopic signatures that reflect its surrounding chemical environment. In the present work, using photoemission spectroscopy and computational chemistry, we discuss the experimental evidence from Ag_0.98Pd_0.02 SAAs that show free-atom-like characteristics in their electronic structure. In particular, the broad Pd4d valence band states of the bulk Pd metal become a narrow band in the alloy. The measured photoemission spectra were compared with the calculated photoemission signal of a free Pd atom in the gas phase with very good agreement, suggesting that the Pd4d states in the alloy exhibit very weak hybridization with their surroundings and are therefore electronically isolated. Since AgPd alloys are known for their superior performance in the industrially relevant semi-hydrogenation of acetylene, we considered whether it is worthwhile to drive the dilution of Pd in the inert Ag host to the single-atom level. We conclude that although site-isolation provides beneficial electronic structure changes to the Pd centers due to the difficulty in activating H₂ on Ag, utilizing such SAAs in acetylene semi-hydrogenation would require either a higher Pd concentration to bring isolated sites sufficiently close together or an H₂-activating support.

Mechanism of Catalytic CNTs Growth in 400–650 °C Range: Explaining Volcano Shape Arrhenius Plot and Catalytic Synergism Using both Pt (or Pd) and Ni, Co or Fe

The Arrhenius plot of catalytic carbon formation from olefins on Ni, Co, and Fe has a volcano shape in the range 400–550 °C with reaction orders 0 (at lower T: Below ~500 °C) and one (at higher T: Above ~500 °C) at each side of the maximum rate. The reaction follows a catalytic route with surface decomposition of the gas (olefin) on the catalyst nanoparticle, followed by the bulk diffusion of carbon atoms and carbon nanotube growth on the opposite side. At the higher temperature region (500–550 °C), the initial surface reaction step controls the rate and the reaction order is one, both in olefins and hydrogen (H). This confirms that H is essential for the surface reaction to occur. This is very valuable information to get faster CNT growth rate at relatively low temperatures. The apparent activation energy observed must correspond with the surface reaction Ea corrected for the temperature dependence of the two molecules involved (olefin and H). Adding a noble metal (Pt, Pd) to the carbon formation catalyst is frequently found to increase the reaction rate further. This effect has been described as an H spillover since 1964. However, there is evidence that the bulk diffusion of H atoms prevails and does not “spillover” the surface diffusion. Diffusion of H atoms through the solids involved is easy, and the H atoms remain single (“independent”) until emerging on a surface.

First direct visualization of spillover species emitted from pt nanoparticles

We studied the methanol adsorption behavior of Pt nanoparticles that were vacuum-deposited on a TiO(2)(110) surface at room temperature by using an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) scanning tunneling microscope (STM). A large number of bright spots were observed on fivefold-coordinated Ti (Ti(5c)) rows of the TiO(2)(110) surface after exposure of the Pt/TiO(2)(110) to methanol vapor. We assigned the bright spots to methoxy species. These were mobile and were found to hop along the Ti(5c) rows. In situ time-resolved STM observations of the formation and migration of the bright spots on the Pt/TiO(2)(110) were carried out in the presence of methanol. The bright spots were produced at the periphery of the Pt nanoparticles and migrated to the substrate Ti(5c) rows. We discuss the spillover process and behavior of the methoxy species on the Pt/TiO(2)(110).

Aberration-corrected multipole Wien filter for energy-filtered x-ray photoemission electron microscopy

The aberration of a multipole Wien filter for energy-filtered x-ray photoemission electron microscopy was analyzed and the optimized Fourier components of the electric and magnetic fields for the third-order aperture aberration corrections were obtained. It was found that the third-order aperture aberration correction requires 12 electrodes and magnetic poles.