Preparation and Characterization of Carbon Nanotubes-Coated Cordierite for Catalyst Supports

The carbon nanotubes-coated cordierite （CNTs-cordierite） was fabricated by pyrolysis of ethine on cordierite with iron catalyst, which was penetrated into the cordierite substrate by vacuum impregnation. The cordierite substrate, carbon naontubes, and CNTs-cordierite were characterized by SEM, TEM/HREM, BET, and TGA. The results show that the carbon nanotubes were distributed uniformly on the surface of cordierite. A significant increase in BET surface area and pore volume was observed, and a suitable pore-size distribution was obtained. On the CNTs-cordierite, carbon nanotubes penetrated into the cordierite substrate, which led to a remarkable stability of the CNTs against ultrasound maltreatment. Growth time is an important factor for thermostability and texture of the sample. The mass increased but the purity decreased with the growth time, which caused the exothermic peak shift to low temperature, and the corresponding full width half maximum （FWHM） of the peak in DTG increased.

Hydrothermal treatment of metallic-monolith catalyst support with self-growing porous anodic-alumina film

Metallic-monolith catalyst support with self-growing porous anodic alumina(PAA)film was prepared by anodizing Al plate.The effect of hydrothermal treatment(HTT)on the crystalline state and textural properties of PAA film was investigated by XRD,BET,SEM and TG.The HTT treatment above 50°C and the subsequent calcination above 300°C could convert the amorphous skeleton alumina intoγ-alumina and increase the specific surface area(SBET).However,SEM images showed the HTT modification was a non-uniform process along the thickness of PAA film.The promotion effect of HTT on SBETwas non-linear,and the slope of SBETgradually decreased with the HTT temperature or time increased.The limited HTT effect should be attributed to a changed pore structure caused by an unfavorable pore sealing limitation.Pore widening treatment(PWT)before HTT could break the pore sealing limitation,because of the reduced internal diffusion resistance of hydrothermal reaction.The synergistic combination of PWT and HTT developed a PAA support with a large SBETcomparable to commercialγ-alumina.In the catalytic combustion of toluene,the Pt-based catalyst prepared by using the PWT and HTT comodified PAA support gave higher Pt dispersion and more favorable catalytic activity than that treated by HTT alone.The presence of a bimodal pore structure was suggested to be a decisive reason.

The surface properties of aluminated meso–macroporous silica and its catalytic performance as hydrodesulfurization catalyst support

Aluminated mesoporous silica was prepared by multiple post-grafting of alumina onto uniform mesoporous SiO2 ,which was assembled from monodisperse SiO2 microspheres.Hydrodesulfurization（HDS）catalyst was prepared by loading Ni and Mo active components onto the aluminated uniform mesoporous SiO2 ,and its HDS catalytic performance was evaluated using hydrodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene as the probe reaction at 300℃ and 6.0 MPa in a tubular reactor.The samples were characterized by N2 physisorption,scanning electronic microscopy,Fourier transform infrared spectrum,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia（NH3-TPD）,^27Al nuclear magnetic resonance（^27Al-NMR）and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM）.The results showed that the Si–OH group content of SiO2 was mainly dependent on the pretreatment conditions and had significant influence on the activity of the Ni Mo catalyst.The surface properties of the aluminated SiO2 varied with the Al2O3-grafting cycles.Generally after four cycles of grafting,the aluminated SiO2 behaved like amorphous alumina.In addition,plotting of activity of Ni Mo catalysts supported on aluminated meso–macroporous silica materials against the Al2O3-grafting cycle yields a volcano curve.

Electronic Effect of Carbon Support on Pt Catalyst Supported on Graphite Intercalation Compound

Graphite intercalation compounds（GIC） were tested as an experimental model for studying the electronic effect of carbon support on the catalytic activity and poisoning tolerance of Pt catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells. The GIC samples with different intercalation degrees were prepared by electrolyzing graphite flake in H2SO4 for varying the periods of time. The GIC-supported Pt catalyst was deposited electrochemically. The catalytic activity and poisoning tolerance of the GIC-supported Pt catalysts were evaluated. It was found that GIC with sulfate anion as intercalate was able to catalyze methanol electrooxidation, which could be related to the positive charges generated on the graphite layer upon intercalation. As intercalation degree increased, the catalytic activity of the GIC-supported Pt catalyst decreased while the poisoning tolerance improved. This suggests that electron donation from support to catalyst had great effect on both catalytic activity and poisoning tolerance of Pt catalyst. And intercalation can be adopted as another important way to make modification on carboneous catalyst support.

Study on Performance of Laminated Porous Metal Fiber Sintered Felt as Catalyst Support for Methanol Steam Reforming Microreactor

In this study, the laminated porous metal fiber sintered felt(PMFSF) functioning as catalyst support was used in a cylindrical methanol steam reforming(MSR) microreactor for hydrogen production. The PMFSF was fabricated by the low temperature solid-phase sintering method using metal fibers such as copper fibers and aluminum fibers which are obtained by the multi-tooth cutting method. The two-layer impregnation method was employed to coat Cu/Zn/Al/Zr catalyst on the PMFSF. The effect of fiber material, uniform porosity and gradient porosity on the performance of methano steam reforming microreactor was studied by varying the gas hourly space velocity(GHSV) and reaction temperature. Our results showed that the loading strength of porous copper fiber sintered felt(PCFSF) was better than porous aluminum fiber sintered felt(PAFSF). Under the same reaction conditions, the PCFSF showed higher methanol conversion and more H_2 output than PAFSF. Moreover, the gradient porosity(Type 5: 90%×80%×70%) of PMFSF used as the catalyst support in microreactor demonstrated a best reaction performance for hydrogen production.

Liquid Phase Hydrogenation of Benzalacet0phen0ne:Effect of Solvent,Catalyst Support,Catalytic M etal and Reaction Conditions

Innovative catalysts based on a "porous glass" support material were developed and investigated for the reduction of benzalace-tophenone. The easy preparation conditions and possibility to use different metals (e.g. Pd, Pt, Rh) for impregnation gave a broad variety of these catalysts. Hydrogenation experiments with these supported catalysts were carried out under different hydrogen pressures and temperatures. Porous glass catalysts with Pd as the active component gave chemoselective hydrogenation of benzalacetophenone, while Pt- and Rh-catalysts tended to further reduce the carbonyl group, especially at elevated hydrogen pressures and temperatures. Kinetic analysis of the reactions revealed these had zero order kinetics, which was independent of the type of porous glass support and solvent used.

Characteristics of Titanocene Catalyst Supported on Palygorskite for Ethylene Polymerization

A series of heterogeneous catalysts with Cp2TiCl2 supported on palygorskite were prepared and evaluated by ethylene slurry polymerizations. The so-called direct supported catalyst, for which the pretreatment of palygorskite with MAO or Al（i-Bu）3 was not necessary, gave the highest activity among these supported catalysts and could be more robust than homogeneous Cp2TiCl2. With the direct supported catalyst, no significant activity loss was observed under low Al/Ti molar ratios （Al/Ti=300） and the decay of polymerization rate was slower when compared to the other supported catalysts. It was found that the surface Lewis acidity of palygorskite after thermal treatment played an important role in activation of metallocene compound and resulted in high catalyst activity.

Catalyst–Support Interaction in Polyaniline‑Supported Ni_(3)Fe Oxide to Boost Oxygen Evolution Activities for Rechargeable Zn‑Air Batteries

Catalyst–support interaction plays a crucial role in improving the catalytic activity of oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Here we modulate the catalyst–support interaction in polyaniline-supported Ni_(3)Fe oxide(Ni_(3)Fe oxide/PANI)with a robust hetero-interface,which significantly improves oxygen evolution activities with an overpotential of 270 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2)and specific activity of 2.08 mA cm_(ECSA)^(-2)at overpotential of 300 mV,3.84-fold that of Ni_(3)Fe oxide.It is revealed that the catalyst–support interaction between Ni_(3)Fe oxide and PANI support enhances the Ni–O covalency via the interfacial Ni–N bond,thus promoting the charge and mass transfer on Ni_(3)Fe oxide.Considering the excellent activity and stability,rechargeable Zn-air batteries with optimum Ni_(3)Fe oxide/PANI are assembled,delivering a low charge voltage of 1.95 V to cycle for 400 h at 10 mA cm^(-2).The regulation of the effect of catalyst–support interaction on catalytic activity provides new possibilities for the future design of highly efficient OER catalysts.

Enhanced stability of nitrogen-doped carbon-supported palladium catalyst for oxidative carbonylation of phenol

Enhancing the stability of supported noble metal catalysts emerges is a major challenge in both science and industry.Herein,a heterogeneous Pd catalyst(Pd/NCF)was prepared by supporting Pd ultrafine metal nanoparticles(NPs)on nitrogen-doped carbon;synthesized by using F127 as a stabilizer,as well as chitosan as a carbon and nitrogen source.The Pd/NCF catalyst was efficient and recyclable for oxidative carbonylation of phenol to diphenyl carbonate,exhibiting higher stability than Pd/NC prepared without F127 addition.The hydrogen bond between chitosan(CTS)and F127 was enhanced by F127,which anchored the N in the free amino group,increasing the N content of the carbon material and ensuring that the support could provide sufficient N sites for the deposition of Pd NPs.This process helped to improve metal dispersion.The increased metal-support interaction,which limits the leaching and coarsening of Pd NPs,improves the stability of the Pd/NCF catalyst.Furthermore,density functional theory calculations indicated that pyridine N stabilized the Pd^(2+)species,significantly inhibiting the loss of Pd^(2+)in Pd/NCF during the reaction process.This work provides a promising avenue towards enhancing the stability of nitrogen-doped carbon-supported metal catalysts.

Bimetallic CoNi single atoms supported on three-dimensionally ordered mesoporous chromia:highly active catalysts for n-hexane combustion

Developing the alternative supported noble metal catalysts with low cost,high catalytic efficiency,and good resistance toward carbon dioxide and water vapor is critically demanded for the oxidative removal of volatile organic compounds(VOCs).In this work,we prepared the mesoporous chromia-supported bimetallic Co and Ni single-atom(Co_(1)Ni_(1)/meso-Cr_(2)O_(3))and bimetallic Co and Ni nanoparticle(Co_(NP)Ni_(NP)/mesoCr_(2)O_(3))catalysts adopting the one-pot polyvinyl pyrrolidone(PVP)-and polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)-protecting approaches,respectively.The results indicate that the Co_(1)Ni_(1)/meso-Cr_(2)O_(3)catalyst exhibited the best catalytic activity for n-hexane(C_(6)H_(14))combustion(T_(50%)and T_(90%)were 239 and 263℃ at a space velocity of 40,000 mL g^(-1)h^(-1);apparent activation energy and specific reaction rate at 260℃ were 54.7 kJ mol^(-1)and 4.3×10^(-7)mol g^(-1)_(cat)s^(-1),respectively),which was associated with its higher(Cr^(5+)+Cr^(6+))amount,large n-hexane adsorption capacity,and good lattice oxygen mobility that could enhance the deep oxidation of n-hexane,in which Ni_(1) was beneficial for the enhancements in surface lattice oxygen mobility and low-temperature reducibility,while Co_(1) preferred to generate higher contents of the high-valence states of chromium and surface oxygen species as well as adsorption and activation of n-hexane.n-Hexane combustion takes place via the Mars van Krevelen(MvK)mechanism,and its reaction pathways are as follows:n-hexane→olefins or 3-hexyl hydroperoxide→3-hexanone,2-hexanone or 2,5-dimethyltetrahydrofuran→2-methyloxirane or 2-ethyl-oxetane→acrylic acid→CO_x→CO_(2)and H_(2)O.

Boron-doped lamellar porous carbon supported copper catalyst for dimethyl oxalate hydrogenation

Doping heteroatoms on carbon materials could bring some special advantages for using as catalyst support.In this work, a boron doped lamellar porous carbon(B-LPC) was prepared facilely and utilized as carbonbased support to construct Cu/B-LPC catalyst for dimethyl oxalate(DMO) hydrogenation. Doping boron could make the B-LPC own more defects on surface and bigger pore size than B-free LPC, which were beneficial to disperse and anchor Cu nanoparticles. Moreover, the interaction between Cu species and B-LPC could be strengthened by the doped B, which not only stabilized the Cu nanoparticles, but also tuned the valence of Cu species to maintain more Cu^(+). Therefore, the B-doped Cu/B-LPC catalyst exhibited stronger hydrogenation ability and obtained higher alcohols selectivity than Cu/LPC, as well as high stability without decrease of DMO conversion and ethylene glycol selectivity even after 300 h of reaction at 240℃.

Effective depolymerization of alkali lignin using an attapulgite-Ce_(0.75)Zr_(0.25)O_(2)(ATP-CZO)-supported cobalt catalyst in ethanol/isopropanol media

Lignin is the world's greatest renewable aromatic biofeedstock,and it has promising applications in high value-added chemical products.Herein,N-Co/ATP-CZO was used as a catalyst for the depolymerization of alkali lignin in ethanol and isopropanol systems,and explored the effects of formic acid(FA)amount,reaction time,reaction temperature and other factors on the depolymerization of alkali lignin.Among them,formic acid serves as both catalytic and in situ-hydrogen donor.Ultimately,the highest yield of bio-oil(59.28%(mass)),including 30.05%(mass)of monomer,was obtained after a reaction of FA to alkali lignin mass ratio of 4 and 240°C for 8 h.Among the monomers,the yield of Guaiacol was the highest(5.94%(mass)),followed by 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol(5.74%(mass)).This study,the modification of attapulgite was carried out to reduce the acidity while enhancing the catalytic activity for depolymerization,and the selection of hydrogen donor was investigated.A feasible pathway for lignin depolymerization research was opened.

Endeavors on the development of efficient and sustainable supported metal catalysts for chemical synthesis on solid-liquid interfaces

Supported metal catalysts,particularly for precious metals,have gained increasing attention in green synthetic chemistry.They can make metal-catalyzed organic synthesis more sustainable and economical due to easy separation of product with less metal residue,as well as reusability of the high-cost catalysts.Although great effort has been spent,the precise catalytic mechanism of supported metal-catalyzed reactions has not been clearly elucidated and the development of efficient and stable recyclable catalysts remains challenging.This highlight reveals a“molecular fence”metal stabilization strategy and discloses the metal evolution in Pd-catalyzed C-C bond formation reactions using Nheterocyclic carbene(NHC)-functionalized hypercrosslinked polymer support,wherein the polymeric skeleton isolates or confines the metal species involved in the catalytic reactions,and NHC captures free low-valent metal species in solution and stabilizes them on the support via strong metal-support coordination interaction.This strategy creates a novel route for the development of supported metal catalysts with high stability and provides insights into the reaction mechanism of heterogeneous catalysis.

Porous silica nano-flowers stabilized Pt-Pd bimetallic nanoparticles as heterogeneous catalyst for efficiently synthesizing guaiacol from 2-methoxycyclohexanol

Porous silica nano-flowers(KCC-1)immobilized Pt-Pd alloy NPs(Pt-Pd/KCC-1)with different mass ratios of Pd and Pt were successfully prepared by a facile in situ one-step reduction,using hydrazinium hydroxide as a reducing agent.The as-synthesized silica nanospheres possess radial fibers with a distance of 15 nm,exhibiting a high specific surface area(443.56 m^(2)·g^(-1)).Meanwhile,the obtained Pt-Pd alloy NPs are uniformly dispersed on the silica surface with a metallic particle size of 4-6 nm,which exist as metallic Pd and Pt on the surface of monodisperse KCC-1,showing the transfer of electrons from Pd to Pt.The as-synthesized 2.5%Pt-2.5%Pd/KCC-1 exhibited excellent catalytic activity and stability for the continuous dehydrogenation of 2-methoxycyclohexanol to prepare guaiacol.Compared with Pt or Pd single metal supported catalysts,the obtained 2.5%Pt-2.5%Pd/KCC-1 shows 97.2%conversion rate of 2-methoxycyclohexanol and 76.8%selectivity for guaiacol,which attributed to the significant synergistic effect of bimetallic Pt-Pd alloy NPs.Furthermore,turn over frequency value of the obtained 2.5%Pt-2.5%Pd/KCC-1 NPs achieved 4.36 s^(-1),showing higher catalytic efficiency than other two monometallic catalysts.Reaction pathways of dehydro-aromatization of 2-methoxycyclohexanol over the obtained catalyst are proposed.Consequently,the obtained 2.5%Pt-2.5%Pd/KCC-1 NPs prove their potential in the dehydrogenation of 2-methoxycyclohexanol,while the kinetics and mechanistic study of the dehydrogenation reaction over the catalyst in a continuous fixed-bed reactor may provide valuable information for the development of green,outstanding and powerful synthetic pathway of guaiacol.

Strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) in environmental catalysis: Mechanisms, application, regulation strategies, and breakthroughs

The strong metal-support interaction(SMSI)in supported catalysts plays a dominant role in catalytic degradation,upgrading,and remanufacturing of environmental pollutants.Previous studies have shown that SMSI is crucial in supported catalysts'activity and stability.However,for redox reactions catalyzed in environmental catalysis,the enhancement mechanism of SMSI-induced oxygen vacancy and electron transfer needs to be clarified.Additionally,the precise control of SMSI interface sites remains to be fully understood.Here we provide a systematic review of SMSI's catalytic mechanisms and control strategies in purifying gaseous pollutants,treating organic wastewater,and valorizing biomass solid waste.We explore the adsorption and activation mechanisms of SMSI in redox reactions by examining interfacial electron transfer,interfacial oxygen vacancy,and interfacial acidic sites.Furthermore,we develop a precise regulation strategy of SMSI from systematical perspectives of interface effect,crystal facet effect,size effect,guest ion doping,and modification effect.Importantly,we point out the drawbacks and breakthrough directions for SMSI regulation in environmental catalysis,including partial encapsulation strategy,size optimization strategy,interface oxygen vacancy strategy,and multi-component strategy.This review article provides the potential applications of SMSI and offers guidance for its controlled regulation in environmental catalysis.

Catalytic removal of volatile organic compounds using ordered porous transition metal oxide and supported noble metal catalysts

Most of volatile organic compounds （VOCs） are harmful to the atmosphere and human health. Cata‐lytic combustion is an effective way to eliminate VOCs. The key issue is the availability of high per‐formance catalysts. Many catalysts including transition metal oxides, mixed metal oxides, and sup‐ported noble metals have been developed. Among these catalysts, the porous ones attract much attention. In this review, we focus on recent advances in the synthesis of ordered mesoporous and macroporous transition metal oxides, perovskites, and supported noble metal catalysts and their catalytic oxidation of VOCs. The porous catalysts outperformed their bulk counterparts. This excel‐lent catalytic performance was due to their high surface areas, high concentration of adsorbed oxy‐gen species, low temperature reducibility, strong interaction between noble metal and support and highly dispersed noble metal nanoparticles and unique porous structures. Catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide over typical catalysts was also discussed. We made conclusive remarks and pro‐posed future work for the removal of VOCs.

A Novel Carbon Nanotube-Supported NiP Amorphous Alloy Catalyst and Its Hydrogenation Activity

A carbon nanotube-supported NiP amorphous catalyst （NiP/CNT） was prepared by induced reduction. Benzene hydrogenation was used as a probe reaction for the study of catalytic activity. The effects of the support on the activity and thermal stability of the supported catalyst were discussed based on various characterizations, including XRD, TEM, ICP, XPS, H2-TPD, and DTA. In comparison with the NiP amorphous alloy, the benzene conversion on NiP/CNT catalyst was lower, but the specific activity of NiP/CNT was higher, which is attributed to the dispersion produced by the support, an electron-donating effect, and the hydrogen-storage ability of CNT. The NiP/CNT thermal stability was improved because of the dispersion and electronic effects and the good heat-conduction ability of the CNT support.

MoS2-rGO hybrid architecture as durable support for cathode catalyst in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Carbon black is utilized as a conventional electrocatalyst support material for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. However, this support is prone to corrosion under oxidative and harsh environments, thus limiting the durability of the fuel cells. Meanwhile, carbon corrosion would also weaken the linkage between Pt and the support material, which causes Pt agglomeration, and consequently, deterioration of the cell performance. To overcome the drawbacks of a Pt/C electrocatalyst, a hybrid support material comprising molybdenum disulfide and reduced graphene oxide is proposed and synthesized in this study to exploit the graphitic nature of graphene and the availability of the exposed edges of MoS2. TEM results show the uniform dispersion of Pt nanoparticles over the MoS2-rGO surface. Electrochemical measurements indicate higher ECSA retention and better ORR activity after 10000 potential cycles for Pt/MoS2-rGO as compared to Pt/C, demonstrating the improved durability for this hybrid support material.

Ultrafine Pt nanoparticles supported on double-shelled C/TiO2 hollow spheres material as highly efficient methanol oxidation catalysts

Catalyst support is extremely important for future fuel cell devices.In this work,we developed doubleshelled C/TiO2(DSCT)hollow spheres as an excellent catalyst support via a template-directed method.The combination of hollow structure,TiO2 shell and carbon layer results in excellent electron conductivity,electrocatalytic activity,and chemical stability.These uniformed DSCT hollow spheres are used as catalyst support to synthesize Pt/DSCT hollow spheres electrocatalyst.The resulting Pt/DSCT hollow spheres exhibited high catalytic performance with a current density of 462 mA mg^-1 for methanol oxidation reaction,which is 2.52 times higher than that of the commercial Pt/C.Furthermore,the increased tolerance to carbonaceous poisoning with a higher If/Ibratio and a better long-term stability in acid media suggests that the DSCT hollow sphere is a promising C/TiO2-based catalyst support for direct methanol fuel cells applications.