Large-scale carbon fixation requires high-volume chemicals production from carbon dioxide. Dry reforming of methane could provide an economically feasible route if coke- and sintering-resistant catalysts were developed. Here, we report a molybdenum-doped nickel nanocatalyst that is stabilized at the edges of a single-crystalline magnesium oxide (MgO) support and show quantitative production of synthesis gas from dry reforming of methane. The catalyst runs more than 850 hours of continuous operation under 60 liters per unit mass of catalyst per hour reactive gas flow with no detectable coking. Synchrotron studies also show no sintering and reveal that during activation, 2.9 nanometers as synthesized crystallites move to combine into stable 17-nanometer grains at the edges of MgO crystals above the Tammann temperature. Our findings enable an industrially and economically viable path for carbon reclamation, and the “Nanocatalysts On Single Crystal Edges” technique could lead to stable catalyst designs for many challenging reactions.

A new type of highly basic catalysts is obtained by promoting Mg–Al layered double hydroxides with sodium aluminate. The Mg–Al mixed oxides obtained by the calcination of pristine hydrotalcites are poorly active in the synthesis of glycerol carbonate from glycerol and dimethyl carbonate (DCM). Pure sodium aluminate on the other hand is highly active in this reaction, but it is also highly corrosive, making its handling problematic. Remarkably, promoting hydrotalcites with low amounts of sodium aluminate is sufficient to reach high yields. At 90 °C, with 3 wt % catalyst and with a DMC/glycerol ratio of 2:1, a glycerol conversion of 92 % was achieved after 30 min over the 10 wt % NaAlO2/hydrotalcite catalyst with almost 100 % selectivity towards glycerol carbonate. The texture and the crystallinity of the catalysts were strongly affected by the addition of NaAlO2. The high activity was clearly correlated with the boost in basicity brought about by sodium aluminate promotion. Whereas pristine hydrotalcites possess only weak basic sites, the basicity of the catalysts increased drastically upon promotion with NaAlO2, both in amount and strength. Diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy coupled with CO2 adsorption measurements revealed the presence of surface carbonates arising from strongly basic sites. Importantly, our study demonstrates that these basic catalysts are truly heterogeneous, stable, and reusable.

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Ni-based perovskite catalysts are prepared by two different methods and used as selective catalyst for hydrogen production from glycerol. The physicochemical properties of the catalysts were studied by X-ray diffraction, H2 temperature-programmed reduction, NH3 temperature-programmed desorption, N2 physisorption and TEM analysis. The effects of perovskite structure on the Ni particle size and acidity were studied, and the possibility of a nontemplate approach is examined. Steam reforming of bio-glycerol was carried out in a fixed bed down flow reactor at atmospheric pressure. The catalysts were compared with the Ni supported alumina; catalysts prepared with and without template were found to contain smaller nickel oxide particles and optimum acidity for good glycerol conversion and hydrogen selectivity. Under optimized reaction conditions, LaNiO3 (E) catalyst exhibited 72% glycerol conversion with 70% hydrogen selectivity. The Ni/Al2O3 catalyst with bigger nickel oxide particle size and moderately strong acidic sites results in quick deactivation, metal sintering, and predominantly filamentous carbon deposition due to the coke formation.

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Synthesis of carbonate esters by carboxymethylation using NaAlO2 as a highly active heterogeneous catalyst. ChemRxiv. Preprint. Sodium aluminate is presented as a highly active heterogeneous catalyst able to convert a range of alcohols into the corresponding mixed carbonate esters, in high yield and under green conditions. The reaction is carried out using dimethyl carbonate both as a reactant and solvent, at 90°C. Allylic, aliphatic and aromatic alcohols are converted in good yields. The solid catalyst is shown to be truly heterogeneous, resistant to leaching, and recyclable. File list (3) download file view on ChemRxiv Ramesh NaAlO2 carboxymethylation-preprint.pdf (876.15 KiB) download file view on ChemRxiv graphical abstract.jpg (71.26 KiB) download file view on ChemRxiv Ramesh NaAlO2 carboxymethylation-ESI.pdf (2.05 MiB)

We report a montmorillonite material with enhanced surface area but with very little alteration in cation exchange capacity (CEC) upon dealumination with para toluene sulphonic acid (p-TSA). The new material shows higher catalytic activity in comparison with mineral-acid-treated clay. Montmorillonite clay was treated with p-TSA for 10 minutes under microwave irradiation. The resulting clay was characterized by CEC, X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of ammonia and cyclic voltametry (CV) techniques. XRD patterns show an unchanged structure of pristine matrix after the acid action. BET analysis revealed an increase in the surface area and pore volume on p-TSA treatment, indicating formation of voids in the octahedral layer which suggests dealumination. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption curves showed the creation of new micro porous regions, possibly in the octahedral sheets. In contrast to mineral acid treatment, p-TSA treated clay samples showed similar CEC which shows the absence of dissolution of isomorphously substituted Mg and Fe ions present in the octahedral layer. CV studies confirm the formation of an Al-p-TSA complex, suggesting dissolution of aluminium octahedral sheets. The complex subsequently hydrolyses, replacing interlayer cations with Al3+ ions. Similar treatment with mineral acid resulted in clay with enhanced surface area but with reduced CEC, evidently due to the removal of isomorphously substituted Fe and Mg. Further, the p-TSA treated clays showed relatively higher esterification activity under solvent-free microwave irradiation. The p-TSA treated clay retained its activity even after three subsequent runs and thus can be exploited for practical applications.