Structural dynamics of an iron molybdate catalyst under redox cycling conditions studied with in situ multi edge XAS and XRD.

The structural dynamics and phase transformations of an iron molybdate catalyst with excess molybdenum trioxide (Mo/Fe = 2.0) were studied during redox cycling of the catalyst using in situ multi-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at the Mo K-edge (transmission mode) and Fe K-edge (fluorescence mode) in combination with X-ray diffraction (XRD). X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis showed that heating under reducing conditions with methanol up to 400 °C produced MoO2 and FeMoO4. Linear combination fitting (LCF) analysis showed that iron was reduced completely, while molybdenum remained partly oxidized (60% as Mo(vi)). Complementary in situ XRD also supported the phase transformation due to reduction of Fe2(MoO4)3 and MoO3 to FeMoO4 and MoO2. Subsequent heating under oxidative conditions from 200 to 500 °C transformed the catalyst into its initial state via Fe2O3 and extra MoO3 as intermediate phases. This underlines the segregation and iron enrichment during redox cycling. MoO3 volatilization, observed under industrial reaction conditions of a methanol and oxygen containing atmosphere, causes this segregation to be permanent. Complete regeneration could only be achieved at 500 °C, which is significantly higher than industrial reaction temperatures. Overall, multi edge in situ XAS along with complementary XRD was found to be an ideal tool for tracing the different amorphous and crystalline phases present during redox cycling of the catalyst.

Nitrene-carbene-carbene rearrangement. Photolysis and thermolysis of tetrazolo[5,1-a]phthalazine with formation of 1-phthalazinylnitrene, o-cyanophenylcarbene, and phenylcyanocarbene.

1-Azidophthalazine 9A is generated in trace amount by mild FVT of tetrazolo[5,1-a]phthalazine 9T and is observable by its absorption at 2121 cm(-1) in the Ar matrix IR spectrum. Ar matrix photolysis of 9T/9A at 254 nm causes ring opening to generate two conformers of (o-cyanophenyl)diazomethane 11 (2079 and 2075 cm(-1)), followed by (o-cyanophenyl)carbene (3)12, cyanocycloheptatetraene 13, and finally cyano(phenyl)carbene (3)14 as evaluated by IR spectroscopy. The two carbenes (3)12 and (3)14 were observed by ESR spectroscopy (D|hc = 0.5078, E|hc = 0.0236 and D|hc = 0.6488, E|hc = 0.0195 cm(-1), respectively). The rearrangement of 12 ⇄ 13 ⇄ 14 constitutes a carbene-carbene rearrangement. 1-Phthalazinylnitrene (3)10 is observed by means of its UV-vis spectrum in Ar matrix following FVT of 9 above 550 °C. Rearrangement to cyanophenylcarbenes also takes place on FVT of 9 as evidenced by observation of the products of ring contraction, viz., fulvenallenes and ethynylcyclopentadienes 16-18. Thus the overall rearrangement 10 → 11 → 12 ⇄ 13 ⇄ 14 can be formulated.

Thermal Cracking of Sugars for the Production of Glycolaldehyde and Other Small Oxygenates.

Thermal cracking of sugars for production of glycolaldehyde, a potential renewable platform molecule, in yields up to 74 % with up to 95 % carbon recovered in the condensed product is demonstrated using glucose as the feed. The process involves spraying an aqueous sugar solution into a fluidized bed of glass beads. Continuous operation is carried out for more than 90 h with complete conversion and stable product selectivity. Besides glycolaldehyde, the other identified condensed products are pyruvaldehyde (9 %), formaldehyde (7 %), glyoxal (2 %), acetol (2 %), and acetic acid (1 %). The effects of temperature, glucose feed concentration, and type of sugar feedstock are investigated. Cracking the monosaccharides fructose and xylose leads to very different product distributions from glucose, but similar carbon recovery. A reaction network in agreement with the main observed products from cracking of monosaccharide sugars is proposed.

Structure analysis of supported disordered molybdenum oxides using pair distribution function analysis and automated cluster modelling.

Molybdenum oxides and sulfides on various low-cost high-surface-area supports are excellent catalysts for several industrially relevant reactions. The surface layer structure of these materials is, however, difficult to characterize due to small and disordered MoO x domains. Here, it is shown how X-ray total scattering can be applied to gain insights into the structure through differential pair distribution function (d-PDF) analysis, where the scattering signal from the support material is subtracted to obtain structural information on the supported structure. MoO x catalysts supported on alumina nanoparticles and on zeolites are investigated, and it is shown that the structure of the hydrated molybdenum oxide layer is closely related to that of disordered and polydisperse polyoxometalates. By analysing the PDFs with a large number of automatically generated cluster structures, which are constructed in an iterative manner from known polyoxometalate clusters, information is derived on the structural motifs in supported MoO x .