The pros and cons of oxidative dehydrogenation of propane are outlined and a new catalytic system based on metal-doped cerianite catalysts is introduced. These novel materials catalyze the selective combustion of hydrogen from a mixture of hydrogen, propane, and propene at 550 degrees C. This gives three key advantages: energy is supplied directly where needed, product separation is made easier, and the dehydrogenation equilibrium is shifted to the desired products. A set of eighteen doped cerianites was synthesized in parallel, characterized, and screened for activity, selectivity, and stability in a cyclic redox system. The best results were obtained with Ce(0.89)Cr(0.02)Fe(0.09)O(2), Ce(0.98)Sn(0.02)O(2), and Ce(0.96)Cu(0.02)Zn(0.02)O(2), which gave 98 %, 91 %, and 98 % selectivity, respectively. Ce(0.89)Cr(0.02)Fe(0.09)O(2) also shows excellent stability in over 120 cycles (66 h on stream at 550 degrees C). Importantly, these doped cerias are monophasic crystalline materials. The dopants are incorporated as solid solutions throughout the fluorite lattice. This means that these catalysts are very stable (they do not sinter during reduction) as opposed to traditional supported metal oxides. The results show that both activity and selectivity towards hydrogen combustion can be tuned (increased or decreased) by selecting the appropriate dopant. Furthermore, the trends in selectivity differ from those measured on supported oxides of the same elements, which indicates that these novel materials indeed contain unique active sites. The factors governing selectivity towards hydrogen oxidation and the nature of the active site are discussed.

Ceria-based mixed oxides, in which about 10 mol % of the cerium is replaced by another metal, catalyze the selective combustion of hydrogen from a mixture of hydrogen, propane, and propene at 550 degrees C. This makes them attractive catalysts for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. Hydrogen combustion shifts the equilibrium to the products side, supplies energy for the endothermic dehydrogenation, and simplifies product separation. The type of metal added has an important effect on the catalytic properties. To gain insight into the process, a set consisting of six mixed oxides was synthesized and the catalytic properties and redox behavior were tested. The mixed oxides generally release more oxygen than plain ceria. Mixed oxides containing Bi, Cu, Fe, Pd or Ca release between 1.6 and 2.0 mg of oxygen per 100 mg sample (compared to only 1.2 mg for plain ceria). This result is important for reactions in which the catalyst acts as an oxygen reservoir, such as selective hydrogen combustion. The temperature at which oxygen is released is generally lower for the mixed oxides, and varies from 110 degrees C (for Cu-CeO2) to 550 degrees C (for Ca-CeO2), which enables catalytic applications over a wide temperature range. The reduction rate at 550 degrees C is related to the reduction onset of the catalysts. Those catalysts with a relatively low reduction temperature, such as Cu-, Mn-, Bi-, and Pb-CeO2, show a high reduction rate, whereas those with a high reduction temperature, such as Ca-CeO2, Fe-CeO2, and plain ceria, reduce at a slower rate. The latter catalysts also have a low selectivity towards hydrogen combustion. The influence of the catalyst composition and crystallite size on the activity and selectivity is discussed.

Solid "oxygen reservoirs," such as doped ceria, can be successfully applied in a novel process for the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane. The ceria lattice oxygen selectively burns hydrogen from the dehydrogenation mixture at 550 8C. This gives three key advantages: it shifts the dehydrogenation equilibrium to the desired product side, generates heat in situ, which aids the endothermic dehydrogenation, and simplifies product separation. We have applied a genetic algorithm to screen doped cerias for their performance in the selective hydrogen oxidation. Three generations of doped ceria catalysts (61 catalysts in total), were synthesised. Dopants were chosen from a set of 26 elements, and with a maximum of two dopants per catalyst, at five different concentrations. The catalyst performance (activity and selectivity), is expressed by a fitness value. Each generation shows a higher average fitness value. The dopant type has a large effect on the catalyst fitness. We identified six dopant atoms which lead to selective hydrogen combustion catalysts, namely bismuth (Bi), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), potassium (K), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb) and tin (Sn) ("good" dopants). Analysis of the effect of electronegativity, ionic radius and dopant concentration shows that most elements yielding a high fitness have electronegativities ranging from 1.5-1.9. Generally, the properties of catalysts containing two dopants can be predicted from the behaviour of singly doped ones. Synergy does occur for certain copper-, iron-and platinum-containing catalysts. The addition of calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg) to copper-doped catalysts doubles the activity, and the selectivity of iron doped catalysts can be improved by adding chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn) or zirconium (Zr). Importantly, the doped cerias show a high stability in the redox cycling, much higher than that of supported oxides. A Cr-and Zr-doped catalyst (Ce 0.90 Cr 0.05 Zr 0.05 O 2 ) was highly selective and active over 250 redox cycles (a total of 148 h on stream), with no phase segregation or change in particle size.

Studies focused on the dehydrogenation of amine-borane by diiron complexes that serve as well-characterized rudimentary models of the diiron subsite in [FeFe]-hydrogenase are reported. Complexes of formulation (μ-SCH2XCH2S)[Fe(CO)3]2, with X = CH2, CMe2, CEt2, NMe, NtBu, and NPh, 1-CO through 6-CO, respectively, were determined to be photocatalysts for release of H2 gas from a solution of H3B ← NHMe2 (B:A(s)), dissolved in THF. The thermal displacement of the tertiary amine-borane, H3B ← NEt3 (B:A(t)) from photochemically generated (μ-SCH2XCH2S)[Fe(CO)3][Fe(CO)2(μ-H)(BH2-NEt3)], 1-B:A(t) through 6-B:A(t), by P(OEt)3 was monitored by time-resolved FTIR spectroscopy. Rates and activation barriers for this substitution reaction were consistent with a dissociative mechanism for the alkylated bridgehead species 2-CO through 6-CO, and associative or interchange for 1-CO. DFT calculations supported an intermediate [I] for the dissociative process featuring a coordinatively unsaturated diiron complex stabilized by an agostic interaction between the metal center and the C-H bond of an alkyl group on the central bridgehead atom of the SRS linker. The rate of H2 production from the initially formed 1-B:A(s) through 6-B:A(s) complexes was inversely correlated with the lifetime of the analogous 1-B:A(t) through 6-B:A(t) adducts. Possible mechanisms are presented which feature involvement of the pendent nitrogen base as well as a separate mechanism for the all carbon bridgeheads.

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Results from this cohort emphasize that clinical trials in older women with multiple concomitant conditions can achieve high levels of adherence. Thought should be given to measuring self-rated health and depressive symptoms before randomization to help identify individuals to be targeted for special assistance programs that focus on encouraging adherence.

The mechanism and energetics of CO, 1-hexene, and 1-hexyne substitution from the complexes (SBenz)2 [Fe2 (CO)6 ] (SBenz=SCH2 Ph) (1-CO), (SBenz)2 [Fe2 (CO)5 (η(2) -1-hexene)] (1-(η(2) -1-hexene)), and (SBenz)2 [Fe2 (CO)5 (η(2) -1-hexyne)] (1-(η(2) -1-hexyne)) were studied by using time-resolved infrared spectroscopy. Exchange of both CO and 1-hexyne by P(OEt)3 and pyridine, respectively, proceeds by a bimolecular mechanism. As similar activation enthalpies are obtained for both reactions, the rate-determining step in both cases is assumed to be the rotation of the Fe(CO)2 L (L=CO or 1-hexyne) unit to accommodate the incoming ligand. The kinetic profile for the displacement of 1-hexene is quite different than that for the alkyne and, in this case, both reaction channels, that is, dissociative (SN 1) and associative (SN 2), were found to be competitive. Because DFT calculations predict similar binding enthalpies of alkene and alkyne to the iron center, the results indicate that the bimolecular pathway in the case of the alkyne is lower in free energy than that of the alkene. In complexes of this type, subtle changes in the departing ligand characteristics and the nature of the mercapto bridge can influence the exchange mechanism, such that more than one reaction pathway is available for ligand substitution. The difference between this and the analogous study of (μ-pdt)[Fe(CO)3 ]2 (pdt=S(CH2 )3 S) underscores the unique characteristics of a three-atom S-S linker in the active site of diiron hydrogenases.

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