Pingle Liu

Preparation of Carbon Nano-fiber Washcoat on Porous Silica Foam as Structured Catalyst Support

This paper reports how a hairy layer of carbon nano-fibers can be prepared on the macro-porous silica foam produced by the sphere templating method. Firstly, three-dimensional close-packed crystals of polystyrene spheres are assembled on porous disk substrate by vacuum filtration or evaporation. The polystyrene template is annealed slightly above the glass transition temperature in order to strengthen the colloidal crystal and ensure interconnection of the spheres so as to obtain porous materials with open structure. Following the treatment of hexde-cylfrimethylammonium bromide, the polystyrene template is filled with silica colloidal solution, which solidifies in the cavities. Then the polystyrene particles are removed by calcination at 843K, leaving behind porous silica foam. Scanning electron microscopy images demonstrate that silica foam has uniform and open structured pores. Nickel particles were deposited on porous silica foam layer by the dipping method and porous carbon nano-fiber washcoat was prepared by catalytic decomposition of ethene over small nickel particles.

The recycle of red mud as excellent SCR catalyst for removal of NOx

The development of new routes for the utilization of red mud (RM) waste is very urgent due to its huge accumulation and potential environmental harm. By taking advantage of its Fe–Al–Si–Ti composition and excellent plasticity, we developed a ball milling and acid–base neutralization method to reuse the RM waste as Fe-based denitration catalysts. The resulting RM catalysts demonstrate excellent catalytic activity and stability with >90% NO conversion above 400 °C in the presence of SO2 and H2O, which is even much better than that of a commercial V–W–Ti catalyst. Characterization data reveal that our treatment eliminates poisonous alkaline metal elements and increases dispersion of RM particles, making the RM active for denitration reactions. The formation of ferric sulfate species with more reducible Fe3+/Fe2+ active sites by a SO2 activation method can further enhance the denitration activity. Moreover, NH3-TPD and in situ IR results demonstrate that the NH3-SCR reaction over the RM catalyst follows the Eley–Rideal mechanism at high temperature and the increased absorption of NH3 for alkaline metal-eliminated or SO2-activated samples accounts for its high DeNOx efficiency. The demonstrated feasibility for reusage of the RM as DeNOx catalyst has promising industrial prospects for its extremely low cost, no toxicity, and high efficiency.

Catalytic properties of nickel/sepiolite promoted with potassium and lanthanum in adiponitrile hydrogenation under mild conditions

Ni/sepiolite, potassium and (or) lanthanum doped Ni/sepiolite catalysts were prepared by the incipient impregnation method and characterized by N2 adsorption–desorption, temperature programmed reduction (TPR), hydrogen chemisorption, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), ammonia temperature programmed desorption (NH3-TPD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was revealed that the potassium could inhibit the formation of the ACH by-product by neutralizing some acid sites on the catalyst, and the lanthanum could efficiently reduce the diameter and improve the dispersion of the active nickel particles. These catalysts were tested in liquid phase hydrogenation of adiponitrile (ADN). The products include 6-aminocapronitrile (ACN), hexamethylenediamine (HMDA), 1-azacycloheptane (ACH) and C12 compounds. It shows that the catalyst doped with potassium and lanthanum gives the best catalytic performance, the selectivity to ACN and HMDA reaches to 91.32% at 92.56% conversion of adiponitrile under 393 K and 2.0 MPa.

Metal salts with highly electronegative cations as efficient catalysts for the liquid-phase nitration of benzene by NO 2 to nitrobenzene

Metal salts with highly electronegative cations have been used to effectively catalyze the liquid-phase nitration of benzene by NO2 to nitrobenzene under solvent-free conditions. Several salts including FeCl3, ZrCl4, AlCl3, CuCl2, NiCl2, ZnCl2, MnCl2, Fe(NO3)3∙9H2O, Bi (NO3)3∙5H2O, Zr(NO3)4∙5H2O, Cu(NO3)2∙6H2O, Ni (NO3)2∙6H2O, Zn(NO3)2∙6H2O, Fe2(SO4)3, and CuSO4 were examined and anhydrous FeCl3 exhibited the best catalytic performance under the optimal reaction conditions. The benzene conversion and selectivity to nitrobenzene were both over 99%. In addition, it was determined that the metal counterion and the presence of water hydrates in the salt affects the catalytic activity. This method is simple and efficient and may have potential industrial application prospects.

Different Crystal Form Titania Supported Ruthenium Nanoparticles for Liquid Phase Hydrodeoxygenation of Guaiacol

Titania supported Ruthenium-based catalysts were prepared for liquid phase hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol to cyclohexanol. The catalytic performance is affected by the different crystal forms of titania supports. Anatase and rutile titania supported catalyst 5%Ru/a-r-TiO2 presents higher BET surface area, better dispersion of Ru particles with smaller particle size of 3-4 nm, more acidic centers, and more Ruδ+ located at the boundary between anatase titania and rutile titania. Hence, 5%Ru/a-r-TiO2 gives the best catalytic performance of 95.33% conversion of guaiacol and 79.23% selectivity to cyclohexanol, other products mainly include cyclohexane, benzene, cyclohexanone and 1,2-cyclohexanediol. Based on the results of this work, the possible reaction path for guaiacol hydrodeoxygenation was proposed.