Mass Spectrometers for Catalysis Applications
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CATALYSIS APPLICATIONS Catalysis Applications

Catalysis Applications Catalysis is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by the addition of a substance known as a catalyst. The reaction itself does not consume the catalyst but it does allow more preferential products to be produced at a faster rate under more favourable conditions. The use of catalysts is vitally important to all areas of modern life and the economic impact of catalysis is huge, contributing 30–40% of global GDP. It is estimated that 85% of all manufactured products involve catalysis somewhere in their production chain, and such products have...

Heterogeneous Catalysis Operando Spectroscopy Catalyst Characterisation 10. Surface Chemistry 12. Electrocatalysis 14. Biocatalysis 16. Plasma Catalysis

Heterogeneous Catalysis Heterogeneous catalysis covers an enormous range of chemical reactions. The defining feature of heterogeneous catalysis is the reaction of gas or liquid phase reactants occurring at the surface of solid catalysts. As the surface is where the reaction occurs the catalyst is generally prepared in ways that produce large surface areas per gram of catalyst. Examples of this are finely divided metals, metal gauzes, metals incorporated into supporting matrices, and metallic films. The wide variety of gas or vapour phase reactions are ideal for study with the Hiden gas...

BIOMASS TAR Climate change and depletion of fossil fuel sources has seen the requirement to find sustainable alternatives become more pressing. Steam reforming of biomass tar offers one such alternative. The data shown here describes a study into this reaction, specifically investigating catalysts that minimise the role that aromatic hydrocarbons can play in the deactivation of the catalyst. The biomass tar includes toluene-like compounds in its structure. Generally, for Ni supported on metal oxide, aromatic hydrocarbons tend to form carbon covered active sites of catalyst and this...

One of the most diverse areas of heterogeneous catalysis involves the use of synthesis gas or syngas. This gas comprises a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen and is typically produced either by oxidising coal with steam or by the partial oxidation of methane. Syngas can be used to produce a wide range of products such as fertilizers, fuels, solvents and synthetic materials. The scheme below shows some of the range of processes that involve syngas. (CH2)n Polyethylene (polythene) Ru Alkanes Alcohols Alkenes Acetic acid HYDROGEN PRODUCTION Steam reforming of methane is a method for...

Operando Spectroscopy Operando spectroscopy is an analytical methodology that combines spectroscopic characterization with simultaneous measurement of catalytic activity and selectivity. The main concern of this methodology is to determine structure-reactivity or selectivity relationships of catalysts and thereby yield information about mechanisms. It also has applications in engineering improvements to existing catalytic materials and processes and in developing new ones. OPERANDO SPECTROSCOPY Operando Raman-Mass Spectrometry investigation of hydrogen release by thermolysis of ammonia...

Catalyst Characterisation For many catalysts it is not only important to understand how a catalysts performs during a chemical reaction, it is also desirable to know about the physical properties of the catalyst. By obtaining knowledge of the physical properties this information can be used to design and adapt new catalyst technology. The important properties to understand include metal surface area of the active catalyst material, the dispersion of metal catalyst on the support structure and the number and type of reaction sites of the catalyst. Characterisation techniques such as...

CHARACTERISATION OF H2 PRODUCTION CATALYSTS Hydrogen as an energy transport medium in combination with fuel cells is one of the emerging energy solutions in terms of sustainability and low environmental impact. There are a variety of methods for the production of hydrogen such as the partial oxidation of methane, steam reforming of methanol or ethanol and ammonia decomposition. CH4 conversion at 750 °C vs time. Conventional vs protected Rh(1wt%)/Al2O3 The top data shown here demonstrates the methane conversion reaction, collected using the HPR-20 gas analyser and is used to prove the...

Probably the most familiar use of catalysis in the wider public is the use of catalytic converters in vehicles. This automotive catalyst is used in the exhaust system of vehicles to control the emission of harmful gases, such as hydrocarbons, carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, and other particulate matter, into the atmosphere. The catalyst helps convert harmful gases into less toxic gases such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide. NOX REMOVAL NOx storage and reduction (NSR) or lean NOx trap (LNT) catalysts are considered to be one of the most promising technologies for NOx removal from lean burn...

Typically the analysis of automotive catalyst performance is performed by analysing the gas at the exit of the exhaust. However there are often different regions of the catalyst monolith which control different parts of the reaction. It is possible to probe these different reaction zones within the monolith by a capillary inlet system inside the monolith channels – SpaciMS. SpaciMS The automotive catalyst used in the exhaust system of vehicles is typically based on a metal or combination of metals being deposited on an inert monolithic material. The use of a monolith greatly enhances the...

Surface Chemistry Catalytic reactions can only occur at the surface of the catalyst. Therefore determining how molecules interact with a surface is important when trying to understand these reactions. The adhesion of gas or liquid molecules to the surface is known as adsorption. This can be due to either chemisorption or physisorption, and the strength of molecular adsorption to a catalyst surface is critically important to the catalyst’s performance. However, it is difficult to study these phenomena in real catalyst particles, which have complex structures. Instead, well-defined single...