Catalytic reactor for operando spatially resolved structure-activity profiling using high-energy X-ray diffraction.

In heterogeneous catalysis, operando measurements probe catalysts in their active state and are essential for revealing complex catalyst structure-activity relationships. The development of appropriate operando sample environments for spatially resolved studies has come strongly into focus in recent years, particularly when coupled to the powerful and multimodal characterization tools available at synchrotron light sources. However, most catalysis studies at synchrotron facilities only measure structural information about the catalyst in a spatially resolved manner, whereas gas analysis is restricted to the reactor outlet. Here, a fully automated and integrated catalytic profile reactor setup is shown for the combined measurement of temperature, gas composition and high-energy X-ray diffraction (XRD) profiles, using the oxidative dehydrogenation of C2H6 to C2H4 over MoO3/γ-Al2O3 as a test system. The profile reactor methodology was previously developed for X-ray absorption spectroscopy and is here extended for operando XRD. The profile reactor is a versatile and accessible research tool for combined spatially resolved structure-activity profiling, enabling the use of multiple synchrotron-based characterization methods to promote a knowledge-based optimization of a wide range of catalytic systems in a time- and resource-efficient way.

Capturing spatially resolved kinetic data and coking of Ga-Pt supported catalytically active liquid metal solutions during propane dehydrogenation in situ.

Supported liquid phase catalysis has great potential to unify the advantages from both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. Recently, we reported supported catalytically active liquid metal solutions (SCALMS) as a new class of liquid phase catalysts. SCALMS enable high temperature application due to the high thermal stability of liquid metals when compared to supported molten salts or ionic liquids. The highly dynamic liquid metal/gas interface of SCALMS allows for catalysis over single atoms of an active metal atom within a matrix of liquid gallium. In the present study, kinetic data is acquired along the catalyst bed in a compact profile reactor during propane dehydrogenation (PDH) over gallium-platinum SCALMS. The reactor design allows for the analysis of the temperature and gas phase composition along the catalyst bed with a high spatial resolution using a sampling capillary inside the reactor. The concentration profiles suggest enhanced deactivation of the catalyst at the end of the bed with a deactivation front moving from the end to the beginning of the catalyst bed over time on stream. Only minor amounts of side products, formed via cracking of propane, were identified, supporting previously reported high selectivity of SCALMS during alkane dehydrogenation. The acquired data is supported by in situ high-resolution thermogravimetry coupled with mass spectrometry to monitor the activity and coking behaviour of SCALMS during PDH. The results strongly suggest an enhanced formation of coke over Al2O3-supported SCALMS when compared to using SiO2 as the support material.

Sites for methane activation on lithium-doped magnesium oxide surfaces.

Density functional calculations yield energy barriers for H abstraction by oxygen radical sites in Li-doped MgO that are much smaller (12±6 kJ mol(-1)) than the barriers inferred from different experimental studies (80-160 kJ mol(-1)). This raises further doubts that the Li(+)O(˙-) site is the active site as postulated by Lunsford. From temperature-programmed oxidative coupling reactions of methane (OCM), we conclude that the same sites are responsible for the activation of CH4 on both Li-doped MgO and pure MgO catalysts. For a MgO catalyst prepared by sol-gel synthesis, the activity proved to be very different in the initial phase of the OCM reaction and in the steady state. This was accompanied by substantial morphological changes and restructuring of the terminations as transmission electron microscopy revealed. Further calculations on cluster models showed that CH4 binds heterolytically on Mg(2+)O(2-) sites at steps and corners, and that the homolytic release of methyl radicals into the gas phase will happen only in the presence of O2.