A Ni/MgO-La2O3-Al2O3 catalyst with Ni as active component, Al2O3 as support, MgO and La2O3 as additives was prepared and its catalytic activity was evaluated in the process of hydrogen production from catalytic steam reforming of bio-oil. In the catalytic evaluation, some typical components present in bio-oil such as acetic acid, butanol, furfural, cyclopentanone and m-cresol were mixed following a certain proportion as model compounds. Reaction parameters like temperature, steam to carbon molar ratio and liquid hourly space velocity were studied with hydrogen yield as index. The optimal reaction conditions were obtained as follows: temperature 750-850 °C, steam to carbon molar ratio 5-9, liquid hourly space velocity 1.5-2.5 h-1. The maximum hydrogen yield was 88.14%. The carbon deposits were formed on the catalyst surface but its content decreased as reaction temperature increased in the bio-oil steam reforming process.

In the present work, silicon nitride nanowires (SNNWs) have been synthesized via nitriding cryomilled nanocrystalline silicon powder. The silicon powder exhibits a fine polycrystalline structure after the cryomilling process, with an average grain size of 25 to 125 nm at various cryomilling times. The SNNWs that form after the nitridation of the cryomilled silicon powder exhibit single crystal structure and are 20 to 100 nm in diameter and ∼10 µm in length. The diameter of the nanowires is in agreement with the grain size of the cryomilled Si powder. Microstructural characterization reveals that the as-synthesized nanowires have a hexagonal structure and their primary growth direction is along the [0001] direction. The formation of the Si–N–Si bond during the cryomilling process, as investigated theoretically with density functional theory, promotes the subsequent synthesis of the α-Si3N4 nanowires. The mechanism for nanowire formation appears to be a vapor-solid (VS) reaction.

The effect of different combinations of a new tri-templating agent TEAOH/DEA/TEA, namely tetraethyl ammonium hydroxide (TEAOH)/diethylamine (DEA)/triethylamine (TEA), on the catalytic performance of SAPO-34 was investigated in MTO conversion. It was found that SAPO-34 and SAPO-5 are competing phases at TEA concentrations higher than 40 %. Pure SAPO-34 with high crystallinity, large BET surface area and small crystal size (0.8~1.4μm) was obtained at a low TEA concentrations. The combination of TEAOH/DEA/TEA strongly governed the acidity of crystals. TEAOH:DEA:TEA=0.67:0.67:0.67 gave an economical catalyst active in MTO reaction with 100 % methanol conversion, 89.39 % ethylene and propylene selectivity, a longest lifetime and a high coke capability of 24.2 wt %.

CuFe-Hydrotalcite-Like Compounds (CuFe-HTLcs) were synthesized by coprecipitation with Cu(NO3)2·6H2O, Fe(NO3)3·9H2O, NaOH and Na2CO3 solution. The sample with Cu2+ / Fe3+ = 2 was of the highest crystalline characterized by XRD and particle size distribution. The synthesis of propylene carbonate from 1,2-propanediol (PG) and urea was performed to evaluate the catalytic activities of the CuFe-HTLcs. The effects of reaction time, temperature, dosage of catalyst on the synthesis of propylene carbonate were fully discussed. The optimal reaction conditions were determined by using orthogonal test design: reaction temperature 170 °C, dosage of catalyst 0.2 g, and molar ratio of PG to urea 2:1, reaction time 3 h. Under the optimal conditions, the conversion of urea nearly reached 100 %, and the selectivity of propylene carbonate was up to 90.4%.

Mesoporous molecular sieves MCM-41 modified by single (Ti) and bimetal (Ti-V) ions with highly ordered hexagonal arrangement of their cylindrical channels were prepared by direct synthesis under microwave–hydrothermal (M–H) conditions at 403K. Characterizations with powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), 29Si magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR, N2 adsorption–desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelcctron spectra(XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that Ti and V ions were introduced into MCM-41 under M-H conditions and Ti/V-Si bond was formed. Results revealed that all the samples were of a typical hexagonal arrangement of mesoporous structure. The modified materials were high active and selective in the epoxidation of styrene at 343 K in comparison with single-functional MCM-41. Moreover, compared to conventional method, the presented microwave hydrothermal synthesis of molecular sieves greatly improved the selectivity to styrene oxide, e.g., it reached 58.6% at styrene conversion of 18.7% over Ti-V-MCM-41 (50).

The influence of hypersonic on phenol sulfoxidation kinetics in the presence of cobalt complexes fixed on polyacrylic acid (PAA) is investigated in the soft conditions (313-333K). Products are p- and o-phenolsulfonic acids. Phenol conversion under the investigated conditions reaches 98-100 %. The ultrasonic sound in the interval from 0 to 60 kHz leads to aggrandizement of trivalent cobalt concentration in a solution, as a result, increasing the reaction activity. The enlargement of ultrasound influence (USI) modulation frequency and the exposure time results in destruction of a binuclear complex, which may be responsible for enhanced catalytic activity. KEDWORDS: ultrasound influence; polyacrylic acid; immobilized cobalt complexes; kinetics

The purpose of this paper was to describe a method of preparing Fe-TiO2 supported on sepiolite fibers with sol-gel method and to discuss the feasibility of photocatalytic degradation of paper-making waste water with chemical oxygen depletion (CODcr) (Potassium dichromate method) as evaluation criterion of catalytic activity. As-fabricated catalysts consisted of TiO2 particles impregnated with iron and dispersed on the sepiolite fibers (S.F.s). The novel Fe-TiO2-sepiolite was characterized by specific surface area and pore size distribution measurements, scanning electron microscope (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform Infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) etc. The effects of parameters such as the amount of Ti/sepiolite fibers, initial pH, H2O2, Fe-doped, concentration of waste water, etc. were studied in detail. The results indicated that the presence of sepiolite in the support preparation and its role as a matrix over which TiO2 particles were dispersed seem to play an important effect in the migration process of oxygen species through the support vacancies. On the basis of these properties, the most promising carriers to be used in a waste water treatment process were selected.

This research contributes to the study of hydrogen storage of two Ti-Zr based systems using (I) titanium dioxide (TiO2) + zirconium acetylacetonate (C20H28O8Zr) and (II) titanium dioxide (TiO2) + zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl4) as starting materials. Both systems were prepared by mechanical grinding under the same conditions, with composition of 50 wt.% Ti and Zr and milling time of 2, 5, 7, 15, 30 and 70 hrs. The samples were evaluated by hydrogen absorption tests and characterized by BET, XRD and TEM. The results of hydrogen storage at different pressures but same temperature showed that samples of the system I absorbed the largest quantities of hydrogen but difficult to release them, while the system II absorbed less amount of hydrogen but completely desorbed the absorbed hydrogen. The increase of the mechanical grinding time is directly associated with changes in hydrogen absorption capacity and formation of new components. The formation of oxide nanoparticles of Ti and Zr on the surface of TiO2 in samples from series II was associated with the hydrogen absorption capacity. Keywords: hydrogen storage, Ti-Zr, mechanical milling, sorption.

Gold nanoparticles supported on titania catalysts with different Au loadings were prepared and evaluated in the reaction of NO reduction by CO in an oxygen rich condition. The crystalline structures of the Au/TiO2 materials were refined with Rietveld method. TiO2 support chiefly contains anatase phase, having a crystalline size ranged from 5 to 15 nm. Au particles have an average crystal size approximately 2-5 nm as Au concentration less 3 wt %. In the reaction of NO + CO + O2, the Au/TiO2catalysts show a selectivity to 100 % N2, neither NO2 nor N2O was yielded in the reaction temperature between 25 and 400 °C, which strongly indicates that Au/TiO2catalysts are much superior to the other catalysts like Pt/TiO2 catalysts on which N2O was usually produced in the reaction temperature below 200 °C and NO2 was produced in the reaction temperature above 300 °C under a similar reaction condition.

The thermal stabilization of γ-Al2O3 using W+6 ions has been found useful to the synthesis of Pt/Al2O3 catalysts. The sequential impregnation method was used to study the effect of W6+ upon Pt/ γ-Al2O3 reducibility, Pt dispersion, Raman spectroscopy and n-heptane hydroconversion. The W/Pt atomic ratios varied from 3.28 to 75. We found that the W6+ ions delayed reduction of a fraction of Pt+4 atoms beyond 773 K. At the same time, W6+inhibited sintering of the metallic crystallites once they were formed on the surface. For the sample with a W/Pt atomic ratio of 3.28, W6+ did not inhibit the H2 reduction of Pt oxides even below of 773 K, the Pt oxides were reduced completely, however, the Pt dispersion decreased for this sample with respect to the Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. After reduction at 1073 K, sequential samples impregnating Pt on WOx/γAl2O3 were more active and stable during n-heptane hydroconversion than monometallic Pt/γAl2O3 catalyst. Selectivities for dehydrocyclization, isomerization and Hydrocracking changed significantly when the W/Pt atomic ratio and reduction temperature increased. Initial and final reaction rates were more sensitive to reduction temperature. W6+ ions promoted high thermal stability of Pt crystallites when sequential catalysts were reduced at 1073 K and deactivation of bimetallic catalysts reduced at 773 K and 1073 K was less than the deactivation of Pt/Al2O3 catalyst.

Ce-containing MCM-41 mesoporous materials with large surface area and ordered pore structure system have been possible to be synthesized through a surfactant-assisted approach. The textural properties and structural regularity of the materials varied with the Si/Ce molar ratio. It is found that the band at 970 cm-1 in the FTIR spectrum of the Ce-MCM-41 mesoporous materials might be used as an indicator of the formation of the Ce-O-Si bond and its intensity as a measure of a degree of cerium ion substitution in the framework of Si-MCM-41. When Ni was loaded on the Ce-MCM-41 support, the Ni/Ce-MCM-41 catalysts show high catalytic activity which has strong temperature dependence. The methane conversion over these catalysts reached 60-75 % with a 100 % selectivity towards hydrogen.

Ni (10%) and Ni-Cu (50 and 25%, respectively) catalysts supported on alumina, magnesia and magnesium aluminate were synthesized. The characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, temperature programmed-reduction, Raman spectroscopy and SEM. The catalysts were tested in the methane decomposition reaction using a tubular fixed bed reactor operated in the range of 500-580°C under atmospheric pressure. A higher activity was observed with the bimetallic catalysts supported on alumina and magnesium aluminate. These results were explained in terms of Ni-Cu alloy formation and weak metal-support interaction. In the case of monometallic catalysts, a strong metal-support interaction was detected, which revealed the lowest activity and stability compared with the bimetallic catalysts. The formed carbon was a combination of amorphous and graphite.

Dynamics of structural transformation of supported heteropoly compound was investigated by IR-spectroscopy, XRD, TPR, and TPO methods. The 15-30 wt.% H3PMo12O40 and H3PV2Mo10O40, supported on SiO2 catalysts were investigated in process under various conditions by interaction with O2 (air) in the presence of water vapor, H2, alkane in TPR regime, O2 in TPO regime (298-1273K) and H2O (298, 923K). The rank of reversible structural conversion of supported heteropoly compounds was established under influence of temperatureand medium. These new findings of reversible structural cycle explains the stability of the 12th series Mo heteropoly compounds supported on Si-containing carrier at high temperatures (873-1073K) which is close to the actual operation temperatures of the partial oxidation reactions and oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes.

A comparative study of different sorbent materials was performed in order to propose an integrated system to eliminate both, anionic and cationic contaminant ions in drinking water, such as Cr (VI) and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes). The adsorption process was studied using several adsorbents: activated carbon, cationic clays (bentonite) and natural zeolite as well as anionic clays (Al-Mg/Nitrate hydrotalcites). The activated carbon and natural zeolites were commercial samples, while hydrotalcite-like compounds were synthesized by an ultrasound-assisted method. It was found that although activated carbon showed a good performance in the cationic sorption, the calcined hydrotalcites presented the highest sorption capacity of chromates compared with activated carbon which had a good performance only up to 100 ppm. For higher concentrations (>100 ppm) activated carbon is saturated rapidly and its sorptive capacity is practically null.

Different synthesis procedures of Pt supported on tungstated zirconia catalysts (Pt/WOx-ZrO2) were investigated with the aim to elucidate the different WOx nanostructures developed on the zirconia surface depending on the preparation route. Pt/WOx-ZrO2 catalysts were synthesized by the coprecipitation and impregnation methods and pretreated by various procedures such as different calcinations temperatures or the use of reflux. The catalysts characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM, SEM) and nitrogen physisorption, and the catalytic activity was evaluated in the n-hexane isomerization reaction. The results indicate that the development of active sites for isomerization of n-hexane is enhanced by the stabilization of the WOx nanostructures on the surface of zirconia, before the formation of the WO3 crystallites, and it largely depends on the synthesis method.

Catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of aqueous solutions of phenol was performed on ruthenium catalysts supported on different oxides: TiO2, ZrO2 and their doped ceria mixtures. Phenol was chosen as a model pollutant molecule because of its wide use in industrial processes. All the samples were found to be highly active for phenol oxidation and the various titania-ceria mixtures were the most efficient for total organic carbon (TOC) removal. ICP analysis of the remaining solution after reaction revealed that ruthenium has not leached. Moreover, elementary analysis of the used catalysts showed that the deposition of carbonaceous species on the surface of the catalysts was rather low and was dependent on the nature of the support.

We report on the size relationship of Au and Au-Pt nanoparticles that were synthesised on silica and anatase phase titania supports. Deposition-precipitation (DP) of metal chlorides with the addition of urea and ammonium hydroxide was used to produce the nanoparticles. The relative particle size relationship of the Au and Au-Pt nano particles (NP's) was investigated, relating the Pt concentration and the support polymorph over a temperature range. It was found, with the use of in-situ variable temperature powder X-ray diffraction (VT-PXRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), that the addition of Pt to the Au system corresponded to a reduction in particle size over a broad temperature range.

TiO2nanoparticles were synthesized by the Sol-Gel method by using 2-propanol as solvent in acid medium (pH1). The samples were annealed at 200 and 500°C and were characterized by BET, XRD-Rietveld refinements, TEM and FTIR. The activity was evaluated by the acetaldehyde photodecomposition in an isolated chamber with an initial concentration of contaminant of 300 ppmv with oxygen (2%) assisted with a 365-nm UV lamp. The test results were compared with those obtained with a commercial catalyst (P25). Improved photoactivity (≍100 % of acetaldehyde in 150 min) was obtained with catalysts annealed at 200°C (TiO2-P-200°C), that showed nanoparticles (≍7 nm) and abundant anatase phase (≍ 63 %) coexist with the brookite phase (≍ 37 %), as well as irregular equiaxial morphology. The samples annealed at 500°C (TiO2-P-500°C), showed an increment in nanoparticles (≍22 nm), different ratio and phase composition (anatase-brookite-rutile), and therefore less activity (≍80 %). This high activity could be explained by the special ratio of anatase-brookite and the dimension of nanometric crystal size. The aforementioned characteristics could be useful in the degradation of reactive organic gases like acetaldehyde either in confined spaces or in the open air.

Ammonia (AOH), dimethylamine (DME) and triethanolamine (TEA) as precipitants were used to prepare Pt-SO42-/ZrO2 catalysts, and the crystalline structures, textural structures and surface acid properties of the catalyst samples were characterized and n-hexane hydroisomerization activity over the samples were investigated. DME and TEA as the precipitants would delay the crystallization process. The organic amines were difficult to remove during the washing process, leading to the rinsing times increase, which probably decreased the catalyst BET area. Super Lewis acid sites in SZ catalysts would play very important roles in catalytic hydroisomerization activity.

The transformation of benzoin to tetraphenylfuran catalyzed with a superacid sulfonic clay under different reaction conditions was investigated. Three products with different yields were produced under a nitrogen stream and four products were obtained under an air atmosphere.