Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Effects of Promoter on Structural and Surface Properties of Zirconium Oxide-Based Catalyst Materials
    (Basel : MDPI AG, 2020) Borovinskaya, E.S.; Oswald, S.; Reschetilowski, W.
    Ternary mixed oxide systems CuO/ZnO/ZrO2 and CuO/NiO/ZrO2 were synthesized by one-pot synthesis for a better understanding of the synthesis-property relationships of zirconium oxide-based catalyst materials. The prepared mixed oxide samples were analysed by a broad range of characterisation methods (XRD, N2-physisorption, Temperature-Programmed Ammonia Desorption (TPAD), and XPS) to examine the structural and surface properties, as well as to identify the location of the potential catalytically active sites. By XPS analysis, it could be shown that a progressive enrichment of the surface composition with copper takes place by changing from ZnO to NiO as a promoter. Thus, by addition of the second component, not only electronic but also the geometric properties of active sites, i.e., copper species distribution within the catalyst surface, can be affected in a desired way.
  • Item
    Control of coordinatively unsaturated Zr sites in ZrO2 for efficient C–H bond activation
    ([London] : Nature Publishing Group UK, 2018) Zhang, Yaoyuan; Zhao, Yun; Otroshchenko, Tatiana; Lund, Henrik; Pohl, Marga-Martina; Rodemerck, Uwe; Linke, David; Jiao, Haijun; Jiang, Guiyuan; Kondratenko, Evgenii V.
    Due to the complexity of heterogeneous catalysts, identification of active sites and the ways for their experimental design are not inherently straightforward but important for tailored catalyst preparation. The present study reveals the active sites for efficient C–H bond activation in C1–C4 alkanes over ZrO2 free of any metals or metal oxides usually catalysing this reaction. Quantum chemical calculations suggest that two Zr cations located at an oxygen vacancy are responsible for the homolytic C–H bond dissociation. This pathway differs from that reported for other metal oxides used for alkane activation, where metal cation and neighbouring lattice oxygen form the active site. The concentration of anion vacancies in ZrO2 can be controlled through adjusting the crystallite size. Accordingly designed ZrO2 shows industrially relevant activity and durability in non-oxidative propane dehydrogenation and performs superior to state-of-the-art catalysts possessing Pt, CrOx, GaOx or VOx species.