In Situ Real-time Environmental High Resolution Electron Microscopy of Nanometer Size Novel Xerogel Catalysts for Hydrogenation Reactions in Nylon 6,6.

In situ real-time environmental high resolution electron microscopy (EHREM) under controlled reaction environments permits direct atomic resolution imaging of dynamic surface and sub-surface microstructures of reacting catalysts. Using the EHREM and complementary microscopy methods, we have investigated selective hydrogenation reaction mechanisms over novel xerogel catalysts of ruthenium and Ru with Co and Au promoters on titania supports, and report an alternative heterogeneous catalytic process for the hydrogenation of adiponitrile (ADN) in the manufacture of Nylon 6,6. The direct EHREM observations are supported by ultra-high resolution low voltage scanning electron microscope (SEM) of spatial distributions of the highly dispersed nanometer-size catalyst particles and parallel chemical studies. The results demonstrate the important role of in situ EHREM in the design of heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation processes on the nanoscale.

Solid-state defect mechanism in vanadyl pyrophosphate catalysts: implications for selective oxidation.

High-resolution and in situ electron microscopy of vanadyl pyrophosphate catalysts reacted in alkane (n-butane) and other reducing environments have shown evidence for surface structure modifications accompanied by two sets of symmetry-related extended defects. Defect analysis reveals that the defects are formed by pure (glide) shear mechanism. The defect mechanism suggests the presence of basal (coplanar) anion vacancies, associated with Lewis acid centers, at oxygen sites linking corner-sharing phosphorus tetrahedra and vanadyl octahedra in the active plane. These in-plane defect sites may be key to the activation of the alkane, especially in the dehydrogenation.