A low temperature, isothermal gas-phase system for conversion of methane to methanol over Cu-ZSM-5.

A low temperature, isothermal, gas-phase, recyclable process is described for the partial oxidation of methane to methanol over Cu-ZSM-5. Activation in NO at 150 °C followed by methane reaction and steam extraction (both at 150 °C) allowed direct observation of methanol at the reactor outlet.

TAP studies of ammonia decomposition over Ru and Ir catalysts.

The Temporal Analysis of Products (TAP) technique has been used to investigate the mechanism involved in the catalytic decomposition of NH(3) over a series of catalysts consisting of activated carbon supported Ru (promoted and non-promoted with Na) and over an activated carbon supported Ir. An extensive study of the role played by both the support and the promoter in the "side reactions" and in the stability and surface lifetime of the NH(x) species has been performed. It was suggested that the N(2) produced during the first steps of the reaction over the activated carbon supported Ru catalysts promoted with Na forms a Na-N-Ru complex at the promoter-transition metal crystallite interface. This study also suggests that the Na promoter prevents the diffusion of hydrogen from the metal to the support via spill-over. A similar effect was observed after the thermal treatment at high temperature of the carbon catalyst support. Finally large differences in multi-pulse TAP results have been detected between Ru and Ir catalysts implying that the NH(3) decomposition reaction mechanism must be different on both metals.

DFT and in situ EXAFS investigation of gold/ceria-zirconia low-temperature water gas shift catalysts: identification of the nature of the active form of gold.

A combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the nature of the active form of gold in oxide-supported gold catalysts for the water gas shift reaction has been performed. In situ extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) experiments have shown that in the fresh catalysts the gold is in the form of highly dispersed gold ions. However, under water gas shift reaction conditions, even at temperatures as low as 100 degrees C, the evidence from EXAFS and XANES is only consistent with rapid, and essentially complete, reduction of the gold to form metallic clusters containing about 50 atoms. The presence of Au-Ce distances in the EXAFS spectra, and the fact that about 15% of the gold atoms can be reoxidized after exposure to air at 150 degrees C, is indicative of a close interaction between a fraction (ca. 15%) of the gold atoms and the oxide support. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are entirely consistent with this model and suggest that an important aspect of the active and stable form of gold under water gas shift reaction conditions is the location of a partially oxidized gold (Audelta+) species at a cerium cation vacancy in the surface of the oxide support. It is found that even with a low loading gold catalysts (0.2%) the fraction of ionic gold under water gas shift conditions is below the limit of detection by XANES (<5%). It is concluded that under water gas shift reaction conditions the active form of gold comprises small metallic gold clusters in intimate contact with the oxide support.