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.

Determination of sulfur-containing compounds in diesel oils by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector

This article reports an analytical method for separating, identifying and quantitating sulfur-containing compounds and their groups in diesel oils (170-400degreesC) using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector. The identification of target compounds and their groups was based on standard substances, the group separation feature and the-effect of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography. The quantitative analysis on major sulfur compounds and total sulfur was carried out based on the linear response of sulfur chemiluminescence detector and the internal standards method. The results of total sulfur determination in the samples were compared with those from ASTM D 4294 standard method, the R.S.D. percentage were <6.02%, correctness of this method can meet the industrial requirement. To the end, the method developed was used to investigate the sulfur-containing compounds in different diesel oils, the result shows that the distribution of sulfur-containing compounds in diesel oils from different process units are apparently different. The sulfur compounds in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), residuum fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) diesel oils mainly exist in the form of alkyl-substituted dibenzothiophenes that add up to about 40-50% of the total sulfur, while this number is only 6-8 and 20-28% in visbreaking (VB) and delayed-coking (DC) diesel oils, respectively. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis, characterization and mechanism of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide bilayer-encapsulated gold nanosheets and nanocrystals

Single-crystal Au nanosheets and fcc gold nanocrystals of uniform size were synthesized by a novel and simple route. The results of field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated the formation of the single-crystal structure of gold nanosheets and fcc nanocrystals. Energy-dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX) showed absorbance of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) molecules onto the surface of gold nanostructures.

DEFORMATION OF SOFT COLLOIDAL CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE - THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCES BY SYNCHROTRON SMALL-ANGLE X-RAY SCATTERING ON TENSILE STRETCHED POLYMERIC LATEX FILM

Films obtained via drying a polymeric latex dispersion are normally colloidal crystalline where latex particles are packed into a face centered cubic (fcc) structure. Different from conventional atomic crystallites or hard sphere colloidal crystallites, the crystalline structure of these films is normally deformable due to the low glass transition temperature of the latex particles. Upon tensile deformation, depending on the drawing direction with respect to the normal of specific crystallographic plane, one observes different crystalline structural changes. Three typical situations where crystallographic c-axis, body diagonal or face diagonal of the fcc structure of the colloidal crystallites being parallel to the stretching direction were investigated.

Non-affine structural evolution of soft colloidal crystalline latex films under stretching as observed via synchrotron X-ray scattering

A polymer dispersion consisting of soft latex spheres with a diameter of 135 nm was used to produce a crystalline film with face-centered cubic (fcc) packing of the spheres. Different from conventional small-molecule and hardsphere colloidal crystals, the crystalline latex film in the present case is soft (i.e., easily deformable). The structural evolution of this soft colloidal latex film under stretching was investigated by in-situ synchrotron ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering. The film exhibits polycrystalline scattering behavior corresponding to fcc structure. Stretching results not only in a large deformation of the crystallographic structure but also in considerable nonaffine deformation at high draw ratios. The unexpected nonaffine deformation was attributed to slippage between rows of particles and crystalline grain boundaries. The crystalline structure remains intact even at high deformation, suggesting that directional anisotropic colloidal crystallites can be easily produced.

Gold-coated iron (Fe@Au) nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization, and magnetic field-induced self-assembly

A unique reverse micelle method has been developed to prepare gold-coated iron (Fe@Au) nanoparticles. XRD, UV/vis, TEM, and magnetic measurements are utilized to characterize the nanocomposites. XRD only gives FCC patterns of gold for the obtained nanoparticles. The absorption band of the Fe@Au colloid shifts to a longer wavelength and broadens relative to that of the pure gold colloid. TEM results show that the average size of Fe@Au nanoparticles is about 10 nm, These nanoparticles are self-assembled into chains on micron scale under a 0.5 T magnetic field. Magnetic measurements show that the particles are superparamagnetic with a blocking temperature (T-B) of 42 K, At 300 K (above T-B), no coercivity (Hc) and remanence (M-r) is observed in the magnetization curve, while at 2K (below T-B) He and M, are observed to be 728 Oe and 4.12 emu/g, respectively, (C) 2001 Academic Press.

Oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene over LiCl/MnOx/PC catalysts

The catalytic stability of LiCl/MnOx/PC catalyst have been investigated, the deactivation mechanism was discussed. The experimental results show that ethane conversion decreases and ethylene selectivity keeps about 90% as reaction time increases. The main deactivation reasons of LiCl/MnOx/PC catalyst for oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODHE) to ethylene are the transition of active species Mn2O3 to MnO species and the loss of arrive component Cl in catalyst. instead of ethane with FCC tailed-gas, the stability of LiCl/MnOx/PC catalyst has been largely improved.

Regeneration behaviors of Fe/Si-2 and Fe-Mn/Si-2 catalysts for C2H6 dehydrogenation with CO2 to C2H4

The catalytic performance of Fe/Si-2 and Fe-Mn/Si-2 catalysts for conversion of C2H6 with CO2 to C2H4 was examined in a continuous-flow and fixed-bed reactor. The results show that the Fe-Mn/Si-2 catalyst exhibits much better reaction activity and selectivity to C2H4 than those of the Fe/Si-2 catalyst. Furthermore, the coking-decoking behaviors of these catalysts were studied through TG. The catalytic performances of the catalysts after regeneration for conversion of C2H6 or dilute C2H6 in FCC off-gas with CO2 to C2H4 were also examined. The results show that both activity and selectivity of the Fe-Mn/Si-2 catalyst after regeneration reached the same level as those of the fresh catalyst, whereas it is difficult for the Fe/Si-2 catalyst to refresh its reaction behavior after regeneration.

Relationship between the molybdenum phases and the conversion of n-butane over Mo/HZSM-5

The conversion of n-C4H10 was undertaken on MoO3/HZSM-5 catalyst at 773-973K and the phases of molybdenum species were detected by XRD. The XRD results show that bulk MoO3 on HZSM-5 can be readily reduced by n-C4H10 to MoO2 at 773 K and MoO2 can be gradually carburized to molybdenum carbide above 813 K. The molybdenum carbide formed from the carburization of MoO2 with n-C4H10 below 893 K is alpha-MoC1-x with fcc-structure, while hcp-molybdenum carbide formed above 933 K. During the evolution of MoO3 to MoO2 (>773 K) or the carburization of MoO2 to molybdenum carbide (>813 K), deep oxidation, cracking and coke deposition are serious, in particular at higher reaction temperatures, these lead to the poor selectivity to aromatics. Aromatization of n-C4H10 can proceed catalytically on both Mo2C/HZSM-5 and MoO2/HZSM-5, the distribution of the products for the two catalysts is similar below 813 K, but the, activity for Mo2C/HZSM-5 is much higher than that for MoO2/HZSM-5. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and catalytic reactivity of MCM-22/ZSM-35 composites for olefin aromatization

A series of MCM-22/ZSM-35 composites has been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by XRD, SEM, particle size distribution analysis, N-2 adsorption and NH3-TPD techniques. Pulse and continuous flow reactions were carried out to evaluate the catalytic performances of these composites in aromatization of olefins, respectively. It was found that MCM-22/ZSM-35 composites could be rapidly crystallized at 174 degrees C with an optimal gel composition of SiO2/Al2O3=25, Na2O/SiO2=0.11, HMI/SiO2=0.35, and H2O/SiO2=45 (molar ratio), of which the weight ratio of ZSM-35 zeolite in the composite relied on the crystallization time. The coexistence of MCM-22 and ZSM-35 in the composite (MCM-22/ZSM-35=45/55 wt/wt) was observed to exert a notable synergistic effect on the aromatization ability for butene conversion and FCC gasoline updating, possibly due to the intergrowth of some MCM-22 and ZSM-35 layers.