Effects of treatment in different atmosphere on Pt3Sn/C electrocatalysts for ethanol electro-oxidation

Pt3Sn/C catalyst was prepared by a modified polyol process and treated in air, H-2/Ar, and Ar atmosphere, respectively. XRD analyses indicate that all of these catalysts have face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure. Temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) experiments show that more Sn exists in zero-valence in the Ar-treated PtSn catalyst than in the others. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA) experiments, and the performance tests of direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) indicate that the catalytic activity of PtSn/C for ethanol oxidation was affected significantly by the chemical state of Sn in catalyst particles. The as-prepared PtSn/C gives the higher power density, while Ar-treated PtSn/C shows the lower cell performance. It seems that the multivalence Sn rather than the zero-valence Sn in the PtSn catalyst is the favorable form for ethanol oxidation. Energy dispersion X-ray analysis (EDX) of the PtSn/C-as prepared and PtSn/C (after stability test) shows the active species (platinum, tin, and oxygen) composition changed to a different extent. Further attempt to improve the catalyst stability is needed.

The effects of CO2 addition on the partial oxidation of heptane for hydrogen generation

The effects of CO2 on the partial oxidation of heptane for hydrogen generation have been studied. Based on the experimental results and thermodynamic equilibrium calculations, the validity of CO2 addition to weaken the hot spots, and the feasibility of the autothermal operation are discussed.

Pt based anode catalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells

In the present work several Pt-based anode catalysts supported on carbon XC-72R were prepared with a novel method and characterized by means of XRD, TEM and XPS analysis. It was found that all these catalysts are consisted of uniform nanosized particles with sharp distribution and Pt lattice parameter decreases with the addition of Ru or Pd and increases with the addition of Sn or W. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements and single direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) tests jointly showed that the presence of Sn, Ru and W enhances the activity of Pt towards ethanol electro-oxidation in the following order: Pt1Sn1/C > Pt1Ru1/C > Pt1W1/C > Pt1Pd1/C > Pt/C. Moreover, Pt1Ru1/C further modified by W and Mo showed improved ethanol electro-oxidation activity, but its DEFC performance was found to be inferior to that measured for Pt1Sn1/C. Under this respect, several PtSn/C catalysts with different Pt/Sn atomic ratio were also identically prepared and characterized and their direct ethanol fuel cell performances were evaluated. It was found that the single direct ethanol fuel cell having Pt1Sn1/C or Pt3Sn2/C or Pt2Sn1/C as anode catalyst showed better performances than those with Pt3Sn1/C or Pt4Sn1/C. It was also found that the latter two cells exhibited higher performances than the single cell using Pt1Ru1/C, which is exclusively used in PEMFC as anode catalyst for both methanol electro-oxidation and CO-tolerance. This distinct difference in DEFC performance between the catalysts examined here would be attributed to the so-called bifunctional mechanism and to the electronic interaction between Pt and additives. It is thought that an amount of -OHads, an amount of surface Pt active sites and the conductivity effect of PtSn/C catalysts would determine the activity of PtSn/C with different Pt/Sn ratios. At lower temperature values or at low current density regions where the electro-oxidation of ethanol is considered not so fast and its chemisorption is not the rate-determining step, the Pt3Sn2/C seems to be more suitable for the direct ethanol fuel cell. At 75 degreesC, the single ethanol fuel cell with Pt3Sn2/C as anode catalyst showed a comparable performance to that with Pt2Sn1/C, but at higher temperature of 90 degreesC, the latter presented much better performance. It is thought from a practical point of view that Pt2Sn1/C, supplying sufficient -OHads and having adequate active Pt sites and acceptable ohmic effect, could be the appropriate anode catalyst for DEFC. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Double proton transfer and one-electron oxidation behaviors in double H-bonded glycinamide-formamidine complex and comparison with biological base pair

The behaviors of double proton transfer (DPT) occurring in a representative glycinamide-formamidine complex have been investigated employing the B3LYP/6-311++G** level of theory. Computational results suggest that the participation of a formamidine molecule favors the proceeding of the proton transfer (PT) for glycinamide compared with that without mediator-assisted case. The DPT process proceeds with a concerted mechanism rather than a stepwise one since no zwitterionic complexes have been located during the DPT process. The barrier heights are 14.4 and 3.9 kcal/mol for the forward and reverse directions, respectively. However, both of them have been reduced by 3.1 and 2.9 kcal/mol to 11.3 and 1.0 kcal/mol with further inclusion of zero-point vibrational energy (ZPVE) corrections, where the lower reverse barrier height implies that the reverse reaction should proceed easily at any temperature of biological importance. Additionally, the one-electron oxidation process for the double H-bonded glycinamide-formamidine complex has also been investigated. The oxidated product is characterized by a distonic radical cation due to the fact that one-electron oxidation takes place on glycinamide fragment and a proton has been transferred from glycinamide to formamidine fragment spontaneously. As a result, the vertical and adiabatic ionization potentials for the neutral double H-bonded complex have been determined to be about 8.46 and 7.73 eV, respectively, where both of them have been reduced by about 0.79 and 0.87 eV relative to those of isolated glycinamide due to the formation of the intermolecular H-bond with formamidine. Finally, the differences between model system and adenine-thymine base pair have been discussed briefly.

Novel catalysis of TiO2 for the catalytic alcohols synthesis from CO and H2O

Direct synthesis of alcohols from CO and H2O was investigated using TiO2 catalyst. MeOH (about 24 mg g(-1) h(-1)) and EtOH (about 8 mg g(-1) h(-1)) could be produced under the reaction conditions of T= 573 K, P= 0.5 MPa, CO flow rate of 30 ml min(-1) and CO/H2O = 3/2 during the period of 12 to 44 h time-on-stream. Compared with PbO, TiO2 could preserve stable catalytic activity during a long time of reaction. For the same catalyst TiO2, the reaction performance of alkali carbonates increased with their solubility (K2CO3>Na2CO3>Li2CO3). The corresponding catalytic activity was found to increase with the alkalescence of solvent. The formation mechanism of alcohols was proposed as well. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unique properties of Ir/ZSM-5 catalyst for NO reduction with CO in the presence of excess oxygen

The reduction of NO with CO in the presence of excess oxygen was investigated over different noble metal catalysts for probing the relationship between catalytic properties and adsorption behaviors. Among the four precious metal catalysts investigated, Ir/ZSM-5 was found to be the only active one for NO reduction with CO under lean conditions. With the decreasing of the Ir content, higher NO conversion and CO selectivity was obtained. Temperature-programmed reaction (TPR) studies of NO/H-2/O-2 and NO/CO/O-2 showed that the Pt/ZSM-5 was active when H-2 was used as the reductant, whereas, the Ir/ZSM-5 was active when CO was the reducing agent. This difference is due to the different mechanisms of the two reactions. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of NO, CO and O-2 showed that NO could dissociate more easily over the Ir/ZSM-5 than on the Pt/ZSM-5, while the oxidation of CO by O-2 proceeded more rapidly on the Pt/ZSM-5 than on the Ir/ZSM-5. The presence of excess O-2 inhibited drastically the dissociation of NO, which is considered as the key step for the NO-CO reaction. The high dissociation rate of NO over the Ir/ZSM-5 is visualized as the key factor for its superior high activity in NO reduction with CO under lean conditions. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

On the surface sites Of MOP/SiO2 catalyst under sulfiding conditions: IR spectroscopy and catalytic reactivity studies

The surface sites of MoP/SiO2 catalysts and their evolution under sulfiding conditions were characterized by IR spectroscopy using CO as the probe molecule. The HDS activities of thiophene were measured on the MoP/SiO2 catalyst that was subjected to different sulfidation and reactivation pretreatments. Cus Modelta+ (0 < delta less than or equal to 2) sites are probed on the surface of fresh MoP/SiO2 by molecularly adsorbed CO, exhibiting a characteristic IR band at 2045 cm(-1). The surface of MoP/SiO2 is gradually sulfided in HDS reactions, as revealed by the shift of the IR band at 2045 to ca. 2100 cm(-1). Although the surface of a MoP/SiO2 catalyst becomes partially sulfided, the HDS activity tests show that MoP/SiO2 is fairly stable in the initial stage of the HDS reaction, providing further evidence that molybdenum phosphide is a promising catalytic material for industrial HDS reactions. Two kinds of surface sulfur species are formed on the sulfided catalyst: reversibly and irreversibly bonded sulfur species. The MoP/SiO2 catalyst remains stable in the HDS of thiophene because most sulfur species formed under HDS conditions are reversibly bonded on the catalyst surface. A detrimental effect of presulfidation on the HDS activity is observed for the MoP/SiO2 catalyst treated by H2S/H-2 at temperatures higher than 623 K, which is ascribed to the formation of a large amount of the irreversibly bonded sulfur species. The irreversibly sulfided catalyst can be completely regenerated by an oxidation and a subsequent reduction under mild conditions. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying the isolated transition metal ions/oxides in molecular sieves and on oxide supports by UV resonance Raman spectroscopy

Isolated transition metal ions/oxides in molecular sieves and on surfaces are a class of active sites for selective oxidation of hydrocarbons. Identifying the active sites and their coordination structure is vital to understanding their essential role played in catalysis and designing and synthesizing more active and selective catalysts. The isolated transition metal ions in the framework of molecular sieves (e.g., TS-1, Fe-ZSM-5, and V-MCM-41) or on the surface of oxides (e.g., MoO3/Al2O3 and TiO2/SiO2) were successfully identified by UV resonance Raman spectroscopy. The charge transfer transitions between the transition metal ions and the oxygen anions are excited by a UV laser and consequently the UV resonance Raman effect greatly enhances the Raman signals of the isolated transition metal ions. The local coordination of these ions in the rigid framework of molecular sieves or in the relatively flexible structure on the surface can also be differentiated by the shifts of the resonance Raman bands. The relative concentration of the isolated transition metal ion/oxides could be estimated by the intensity ratio of Raman bands. This study demonstrates that the UV resonance Raman spectroscopy is a general technique that can be widely applied to the in-situ characterization of catalyst synthesis and catalytic reactions. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

Shape selectivity in methane dehydroaromatization over Mo/MCM-22 catalysts during a lifetime experiment

Dehydroaromatization of CH4 with 2% CO2 on 6Mo/MCM-22 in a 100-h lifetime test was carried out at 993 K, atmospheric pressure and 1500 mL/gh. The duration of the lifetime test can be divided into an induction stage, stable stage and deactivation stage on the basis of the selectivities of hydrocarbons and coke. The characteristics of deposited coke with different time onstream were studied using TPO and TG techniques. There were two peaks corresponding to two kinds of coke recorded in TPO profiles, and the oxidation temperature of coke shifted to higher values with less hydrogen content with the increase of coke deposits. BET and Benzene-TPD techniques were employed to study the variation of specific surface area of the external and micropore surface versus time onstream. With the accumulation of coke deposits, although the pores became partially blocked and the internal surface decreased, methane could still enter the channel and was converted to benzene with shape selectivity until a critical value of coke deposition was reached.