Lidia E. Chinchilla

AuPt alloy on TiO2: a selective and durable catalyst for L-sorbose oxidation to 2-keto-gulonic acid

Pt nanoparticles were prepared by a sol immobilization route, deposited on supports with different acid/base properties (MgO, activated carbon, TiO2 , Al2O3, H-Mordenite), and tested in the selective oxidation of sorbose to 2-keto-gulonic acid (2-KGUA), an important precursor for vitamin C. In general, as the basicity of the support increased, a higher catalytic activity occurred. However, in most cases, a strong deactivation was observed. The best selectivity to 2-KGUA was observed with acidic supports (TiO2 and H-Mordenite) that were able to minimize the formation of C1/C2 products. We also demonstrated that, by alloying Pt to Au, it is possible to enhance significantly the selectivity of Pt-based catalysts. Moreover, the AuPt catalyst, unlike monometallic Pt, showed good stability in recycling because of the prevention of metal leaching during the reaction.

Selective Oxidation of Veratryl Alcohol over Au-Pd/Ce0.62Zr0.38O2 Catalysts Synthesized by Sol-Immobilization: Effect of Au:Pd Molar Ratio

The selective oxidation of veratryl alcohol (VA), a model compound of lignin, with oxygen molecules to produce veratraldehyde (VAld) was studied over monometallic Au, Pd, and bimetallic Au:Pd nanoparticles supported on a Ce0.62Zr0.38O2 mixed oxide for the first time. These bimetallic Au-Pd catalysts with Au:Pd molar ratios from 0.4 to 4.3 were synthesized by the sol-immobilization method. Furthermore, all the catalysts were characterized by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), N2 physisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning transmission electron microscopy-high angle annular dark field (STEM-HAADF) imaging, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) techniques. A synergistic effect between gold and palladium was observed over all the bimetallic catalysts in a wide range of studied Au:Pd ratios. Remarkably, the optimum Au:Pd ratio for this reaction was 1.4 with a turnover frequency of almost six times larger than for the monometallic gold and palladium catalysts. Selectivity to veratraldehyde was higher than 99% for the monometallic Au, Pd, and all the bimetallic Au-Pd catalysts, and stayed constant during the reaction time.

Enhanced Activity of Au/NiO Nanohybrids for the Reductive Amination of Benzyl Alcohol

Gold nanoparticles were prepared by sol immobilization (AuSI) or deposition precipitation (AuDP), then deposited on NiO and commercial TiO2 (P25). The Au/NiO catalysts showed higher activity and yield to the secondary amine, compared to Au/TiO2 catalysts, when tested for the reductive amination of benzyl alcohol with isopropylamine. We attribute this result to a synergistic effect between Au and NiO. Moreover, as a result of the protective effect of the polyvinyl alcohol used in the sol immobilization synthesis, the gold nanoparticles on NiO demonstrate an increased resistance to structural changes during the reaction. This effect results in enhanced catalytic efficiency in terms of activity, and better stability against deactivation.

Machine-Learning Aided Evolution Studies of Nano-composite Electrodes and Nano-particle Catalysts for Fuel Cell Applications

Automotive vehicles powered by proton exchange membrane fuel cells are approaching commercial viability but further improvements are necessary for a practical technology that can be mass-produced cost effectively. The bottleneck limiting their commercialization is the notorious cathodic cell reaction, called the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which is a multi-electron pathway reaction with inherently sluggish kinetics. Platinum (Pt) has been used as a catalyst to accelerate the ORR, but despite its exceptional catalytic activity, it is cost prohibitive for commercialization. The search for more affordable fuel cell cathode materials has focused on controlling the surface structure and composition of novel multi-metallic catalytic nanoparticles on high surface area support membranes. However, such nano-structured heterogeneous systems are notoriously challenging to characterize. In addition to difficulties associated with interpreting spatially and spectrally overlapping analytical signals, samples can be beam-sensitive, so care must be taken to limit the beam dose.