CO selective oxidation in a microchannel reactor for PEM fuel cell

It is indispensable to remove CO at the level of less than 50ppm in H-2-rich feed gas for the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In this paper, catalyst with high activity and selectivity, and a microchannel reactor for CO preferential oxidation (PROX) have been developed. The results indicated that potassium on supported Rh metal catalysts had a promoting effect in the CO selective catalytic oxidation under H-2-rich stream, and microchannel reactor has an excellent ability to use in on-board hydrogen generation system. CO conversion keeps at high levels even at a very high GHSV as 500 000 h(-1), so, miniaturization of hydrogen generation system can be achieved by using the microchannel reactor. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Trichloroisocyanuric acid: A convenient oxidation reagent for phase-transfer catalytic epoxidation of enones under non-aqueous conditions

Trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA) is a cheap, safe and readily available alternative to the commonly used hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite for the phase-transfer catalytic epoxidation of alpha,beta-enones under non-aqueous conditions. A variety of chalcone derivatives give the corresponding epoxides with quantitative conversion and satisfactory yields in just a few hours under mild conditions. An asymmetric variant of the epoxidation can be carried out in the presence of chiral N-anthracenylmethylcinchonidine bromide catalyst giving 73-93% ees and 76-94% yields.

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.

Adsorption and reaction of thiophene and H2S on Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst studied by in situ FT-IR spectroscopy

The reactions of both thiophene and H2S onMo(2)C/Al2O3 catalyst have been studied by in situ FT-IR spectroscopy. CO adsorption was used to probe the surface sites of Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst under the interaction and reaction of thiophene and H2S. When the fresh Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst is treated with a thiophene/H-2 mixture above 473 K, hydrogenated species exhibiting IR bands in the regions 2800-3000 cm(-1) are produced on the surface, indicating that thiophene reacts with the fresh carbide catalyst at relatively low temperatures. IR spectra of adsorbed CO on fresh Mo2C/Al2O3 pretreated by thiophene/H-2 at different temperatures clearly reveal the gradual sulfidation of the carbide catalyst at temperatures higher than 473 K, while H2S/H-2 can sulfide the Mo2C/Al2O3 catalyst surface readily at room temperature (RT). The sulfidation of the carbide surface by the reaction with thiophene or H2S maybe the major cause of the deactivation of carbide catalysts in hydrotreating reactions. The surface of the sulfided carbide catalyst can be only partially regenerated by a recarburization using CH4/H-2 at 1033 K. When the catalyst is first oxidized and then recarburized, the carbide surface can be completely reproduced.