Tantalum clusters were synthesized on the surface of porous silica by treatment of adsorbed Ta(CH(2)Ph)(5) in H(2) at temperatures in the range of 523-723 K. The surface species were characterized by UV-vis, far-infrared, and extended X-ray absorption fine-structure (EXAFS) spectroscopies, each of which provided evidence of Ta-Ta bonds similar to those in well-characterized molecular tantalum clusters. The Ta-Ta distance determined by EXAFS spectroscopy was 2.93 A. The chemistry of the cluster synthesis is similar to that of syntheses of similar tantalum clusters in solution. The supported clusters formed at 523 K are characterized by an EXAFS first-shell Ta-Ta coordination number of nearly 2, indicative of tri-tantalum clusters, although it is expected that a mixture of clusters was present, and reduction in H(2) at higher temperatures led to larger tantalum clusters. This is the first example of the surface-mediated synthesis of an early transition metal cluster, and the supported clusters reported here are the first to have been characterized by all three of the spectroscopic methods mentioned above. The similarity of the surface synthesis to that in solution points to opportunities to extend this new class of material to other early transition metal clusters on various supports.
SiO(2)-supported clusters of tantalum were synthesized from adsorbed Ta(CH(2)Ph)(5) by treatment in H(2) at 523 K. The surface species were characterized by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy and X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES)) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The EXAFS data show that SiO(2)-supported tantalum clusters were characterized by a Ta-Ta coordination number of approximately 2, consistent with the presence of tritantalum clusters, on average. When these were reduced in H(2) and reoxidized in O(2), the cluster nuclearity remained essentially unchanged, although reduction and oxidation occurred, respectively, as shown by XANES and UV-vis spectra; in the reoxidation, the tantalum oxidation state change was approximately two electronic charges per tritantalum cluster. The data demonstrate an analogy between the chemistry of group 5 metals on the SiO(2) support and their chemistry in solution, as determined by the group of Cotton.
Binuclear tantalum clusters were synthesized from Ta(CH2Ph)5 (Ph is phenyl) on the surface of nonporous SiO2 (Aerosil), and their reactions with H2, D2, and ethylene were characterized by time-resolved infrared (IR), extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), and X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopies. The EXAFS data indicate the formation in H2 of clusters with a Ta−Ta coordination number of approximately 1 and a bonding distance of 2.74 Å. Reactions of the supported clusters with D2 and H2 facilitate the interconversion of O−H and O−D groups on the SiO2 surface. Reaction of these clusters with ethylene led to their rapid fragmentation to give mononuclear tantalum complexes, as the tantalum was oxidized and new ligands formed, suggested by IR spectra to be ethyl. The results demonstrate a rough analogy between the chemistry of tantalum clusters on the SiO2 surface and their chemistry in solution. Because alkenes are suggested intermediates in the catalytic disproportionation of alkanes on supported tantalum, our results indicate how these intermediates might influence the nature of the catalytically active species.
Silica-supported tantalum clusters (on average, approximately tritantalum) were formed by the treatment, in either H(2) or ethane, of adsorbed Ta(CH(2)Ph)(5); the supported catalyst is active for ethane conversion to methane and propane at 523 K, with the used catalyst containing clusters of the same average nuclearity as the precursor.
Si0 2 -supported tantalum clusters were prepared by adsorption of the precursor Ta(CH 2 Ph) 5 (Ph is phenyl) on the support followed by treatments in H 2 at 523, 623, and 723 K. The resultant clusters, had approximate average diameters of 0.3, 0.8, and 2 nm, as determined by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The samples were tested as catalysts for conversion of methane with n-butane in a once-through flow reactor operated at atmospheric pressure and 523 K, and EXAFS spectroscopy was used to characterize the used catalysts. The results show that (a) the catalysts are active for the conversion of methane with n-butane to give ethane, propane, and pentanes; (b) catalytic activity decreased to nearly zero over a time on stream of 22 h; (c) the catalyst incorporating the smallest clusters exhibited the highest initial activity and that incorporating the largest clusters exhibited the lowest activity; (d) each used catalyst contained clusters of approximately the same nuclearity as the respective fresh catalyst, but with Ta-Ta bond lengths approximately 0.17 Å longer than those found in the fresh catalysts. The data are consistent with catalysis by the supported clusters, and the product distributions are consistent with disproportionation of n-butane accompanied by the reaction of methane with propane to give other alkanes.
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