The Ti3 AlC2 MAX Phase as an Efficient Catalyst for Oxidative Dehydrogenation of n-Butane.

Dehydrogenation or oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of alkanes to produce alkenes directly from natural gas/shale gas is gaining in importance. Ti3 AlC2 , a MAX phase, which hitherto had not been used in catalysis, efficiently catalyzes the ODH of n-butane to butenes and butadiene, which are important intermediates for the synthesis of polymers and other compounds. The catalyst, which combines both metallic and ceramic properties, is stable for at least 30 h on stream, even at low O2 :butane ratios, without suffering from coking. This material has neither lattice oxygens nor noble metals, yet a unique combination of numerous defects and a thin surface Ti1-y Aly O2-y/2 layer that is rich in oxygen vacancies makes it an active catalyst. Given the large number of compositions available, MAX phases may find applications in several heterogeneously catalyzed reactions.

Plasma-Assisted Synthesis of Monodispersed and Robust Ruthenium Ultrafine Nanocatalysts for Organosilane Oxidation and Oxygen Evolution Reactions.

We report a facile and general approach for preparing ultrafine ruthenium nanocatalysts by using a plasma-assisted synthesis at <100 °C. The resulting Ru nanoparticles are monodispersed (typical size 2 nm) and remain that way upon loading onto carbon and TiO2 supports. This gives robust catalysts with excellent activities in both organosilane oxidation and the oxygen evolution reaction.

Mechanistic Aspects of Wet and Dry CO Oxidation on Co3O4 Nanorod Surfaces: A NAP-UPS Study.

Catalytic activity, electronic structure, and the mechanistic aspects of Co3O4 nanorod (NR) surfaces have been explored for CO oxidation in dry and wet atmosphere using near-ambient pressure ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Presence of water with CO + O2 plummets the catalytic activity because of the change in the electronic nature from predominantly oxide (without water in feed) to a Co3O4 surface covered by a few intermediates. However, at ≥375 K, the Co3O4 surface recovers and regains the oxidation activity, at least partially, even in the presence of water. This is fully supported by the changes observed in the work function of Co3O4 under wet (H2O + CO + O2) conditions compared with dry (CO + O2) conditions. This study focuses on the comparative CO oxidation rate on Co3O4 NR surfaces and highlights the changes in the electronic structure that occur in the catalyst during the CO oxidation reaction.

9-fluorenemethanol: an internal electron donor to fine tune olefin polymerization activity.

A new MgCl2 based molecular adduct has been synthesized with 9-fluorenemethanol (9FM) as a novel internal electron donor (IED), along with ethanol (EtOH) (MgCl2·n9FM·xEtOH). The above molecular adduct has been subjected to a variety of structural, spectroscopic and morphological characterization techniques. The results of the solid state (13)C CPMAS NMR technique suggests the coordination of 9FM to MgCl2. Observation of a low angle diffraction peak at 2θ = 5.7° (d = 15.5 Å) underscores the coordination of 9FM along the z-axis, and ethanol in the molecular adduct. Active Ziegler-Natta catalysts were prepared by two different synthesis methods; the conventional method to obtain a high surface area active catalyst, and other one with 9FM as an integral part of the active catalyst in order to study the influence of 9FM as an IED over the active sites. The active catalysts were also characterized thoroughly with different analytical tools. The XRD results show (003) facets of δ-MgCl2 (α-MgCl2) for the conventional (non-conventional) titanated catalyst. Results of the ethylene polymerization activity study reveals that the conventionally prepared highly porous active catalyst shows 1.7-2.5 times higher activity than the non-conventional prepared catalyst; however, the latter shows a low molecular weight distribution and confirms the role of the Lewis base as an IED.

A rationally designed CuFe2O4-mesoporous Al2O3 composite towards stable performance of high temperature water-gas shift reaction.

High temperature water-gas shift reaction was demonstrated for the first time on a CuFe2O4-mesoporous alumina nanocomposite between 350 and 550 °C with 70-80% CO-conversion using simulated waste derived syngas under realistic conditions. Despite high Al-content, the catalyst exhibited stable activity, which was attributed to the nano-architectured robust porous nature of alumina integrated with surrounding CuFe2O4.

Functional and disordered meso-macroporous gamma-Al(2-x)M(x)O3 +/- y (M = Cu and/or Ce).

Disordered meso-macro porous Cu-Ce-Al2O3 nanocomposite (gamma-Al(2-x)M(x)O3 +/- y, M = Cu and or Ce) with different compositions has been synthesized. In situ templated sol-gel method has been adopted with simple EDTA ethylenediamine tetra aceticacid and ethylenediamine molecules to prepare gamma-Al(2-x)M(x)O3 +/- y, (M = Cu and or Ce). Above meso-macro porous materials were characterized by structural, spectroscopy, microscopy and textural techniques. Detailed characterization indicates that Cu2+ ions are introduced into the ceria and alumina lattice positions. Nano composite nature of the gamma-Al(2-x)M(x)O3 +/- y has been confirmed by detailed microscopy investigations. Catalytic activity of the above nanocomposite materials have been screened for environmentally important CO oxidation reaction. 30% Ce-60% Al and 10% Cu containing material shows the best activity among other meso-macroporous material with (50%) 100% CO oxidation at (107 degrees C) 145 degrees C.

MgCl2·4((CH3)2CHCH2OH): a new molecular adduct for the preparation of TiCl(x)/MgCl2 catalyst for olefin polymerization.

A new molecular adduct of MgCl(2) with isobutanol, namely MgCl(2)·4((CH(3))(2)CHCH(2)OH) (MgiBOH), has been prepared as a precursor to the supporting material for an olefin polymerization catalyst. The MgiBOH adduct and final titanated Ziegler-Natta catalysts have been thoroughly characterized by powder XRD, thermal analysis, Raman spectroscopy and solid-state NMR for structural and spectroscopy aspects. A peak observed at 712 cm(-1) in the Raman spectra of MgiBOH indicates the characteristic Mg-O(6) breathing mode and the formation of the adduct. The diffraction feature at 2θ = 7.8° (d = 11.223 Å) in the XRD confirms the adduct formation and the layered structure. The aim of the present article is to study how the insertion of a bulky isobutanol moiety affects the structural and electronic properties of the MgCl(2)·isobutanol molecular adduct. Indeed, the focus of the present study is to explore how the presence of isobutanol, in the initial molecular adduct, influences the final Z-N catalyst properties and its activity.

MgCl(2).6PhCH2OH--a new molecular adduct as support material for Ziegler-Natta catalyst: synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity.

Benzyl alcohol has been used to prepare a single phase MgCl(2).6BzOH molecular adduct as a support for an ethylene polymerization catalyst (Ziegler catalyst). The structural, spectroscopic and morphological aspects of the MgCl(2).6BzOH molecular adduct and the Ziegler catalyst have been thoroughly studied by various physicochemical characterization techniques. The presence of MgO(6) octahedrons due to the interaction of Mg(2+) with six -OH groups of the benzyl alcohol is confirmed from a Raman feature at 703 cm(-1), and structural studies. The supported catalyst activity has been evaluated for the ethylene polymerization reaction. The lower polymerization activity of the titanated Ziegler-Natta catalyst compared with a standard catalyst is attributed to the strong interaction of titanium chloride with the support and associated electronic factors.