Are multiple oxygen species selective in ethylene epoxidation on silver?

Tailoring the Electronic Metal-Support Interactions in Supported Silver Catalysts through Al modification for Efficient Ethylene Epoxidation

Metal-modified catalysts have attracted extraordinary research attention in heterogeneous catalysis due to their enhanced geometric and electronic structures and outstanding catalytic performances. Silver (Ag) possesses necessary active sites for ethylene epoxidation, but the catalyst activity is usually sacrificed to obtain high selectivity towards ethylene oxide (EO). Herein, we report that using Al can help in tailoring the unoccupied 3d state of Ag on the MnO2 support through strong electronic metal-support interactions (EMSIs), overcoming the activity-selectivity trade-off for ethylene epoxidation and resulting in a very high ethylene conversion rate (~100 %) with 90 % selectivity for EO under mild conditions (170 °C and atmospheric pressure). Structural characterization and theoretical calculations revealed that the EMSIs obtained by the Al modification tailor the unoccupied 3d state of Ag, modulating the adsorption of ethylene (C2H4) and oxygen (O2) and facilitating EO desorption, resulting in high C2H4 conversion. Meanwhile, the increased number of positively charge Ag+ lowers the energy barrier for C2H4(ads) oxidation to produce oxametallacycle (OMC), inducing the unexpectedly high EO selectivity. Such an extraordinary electronic promotion provides new promising pathways for designing advanced metal catalysts with high activity and selectivity in selective oxidation reactions.

Revealing the Nature of Active Oxygen Species and Reaction Mechanism of Ethylene Epoxidation by Supported Ag/α-Al2O3 Catalysts

The oxygen species on Ag catalysts and reaction mechanisms for ethylene epoxidation and ethylene combustion continue to be debated in the literature despite decades of investigation. Fundamental details of ethylene oxidation by supported Ag/α-Al2O3 catalysts were revealed with the application of high-angle annular dark-field-scanning transmission electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (HAADF-STEM-EDS), in situ techniques (Raman, UV-vis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), HS-LEIS), chemical probes (C2H4-TPSR and C2H4 + O2-TPSR), and steady-state ethylene oxidation and SSITKA (16O2 → 18O2 switch) studies. The Ag nanoparticles are found to carry a considerable amount of oxygen after the reaction. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate the oxidative reconstructed p(4 × 4)-O-Ag(111) surface is stable relative to metallic Ag(111) under the relevant reaction environment. Multiple configurations of reactive oxygen species are present, and their relevant concentrations depend on treatment conditions. Selective ethylene oxidation to EO proceeds with surface Ag4-O2* species (dioxygen species occupying an oxygen site on a p(4 × 4)-O-Ag(111) surface) only present after strong oxidation of Ag. These experimental findings are strongly supported by the associated DFT calculations. Ethylene epoxidation proceeds via a Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism, and ethylene combustion proceeds via combined Langmuir-Hinshelwood (predominant) and Mars-van Krevelen (minor) mechanisms.

Metal-oxide interactions modulating the activity of active oxygen species on atomically dispersed silver catalysts

The activity of active oxygen species on supported Ag atoms can be effectively modulated by metal-support interactions using different oxide supports. The strong interaction between Ag and Al₂O₃ with more electrons transferred from Ag to Al₂O₃ leads to the formation of more Ag-O₂^- (superoxide) species, responsible for the selective oxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide. The relatively weak interaction between Ag and SiO₂ induces the generation of Ag-O (atomic oxygen) and Ag-O₂^2- (peroxide) species, which are more active for complete oxidation of CO and ethylene to CO₂. This work is of significance for deep understanding of active surface species in atomically dispersed metal catalysts.

Adsorbed Oxygen Ions and Oxygen Vacancies: Their Concentration and Distribution in Metal Oxide Chemical Sensors and Influencing Role in Sensitivity and Sensing Mechanisms

Oxidation reactions on semiconducting metal oxide (SMOs) surfaces have been extensively worked on in catalysis, fuel cells, and sensors. SMOs engage powerfully in energy-related applications such as batteries, supercapacitors, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), and sensors. A deep understanding of SMO surface and oxygen interactions and defect engineering has become significant because all of the above-mentioned applications are based on the adsorption/absorption and consumption/transportation of adsorbed (physisorbed-chemisorbed) oxygen. More understanding of adsorbed oxygen and oxygen vacancies (VO•,VO••) is needed, as the former is the vital requirement for sensing chemical reactions, while the latter facilitates the replenishment of adsorbed oxygen ions on the surface. We determined the relation between sensor response (sensitivity) and the amounts of adsorbed oxygen ions (O2(ads)−, O(ads), −O2(ads)2−, O(ads)2−), water/hydroxide groups (H2O/OH−), oxygen vacancies (VO•, VO••), and ordinary lattice oxygen ions (Olattice2−) as a function of temperature. During hydrogen (H2) testing, the different oxidation states (W6+, W5+, and W4+) of WO3 were quantified and correlated with oxygen vacancy formation (VO•, VO••). We used a combined application of XPS, UPS, XPEEM-LEEM, and chemical, electrical, and sensory analysis for H2 sensing. The sensor response was extraordinarily high: 424 against H2 at a temperature of 250 °C was recorded and explained on the basis of defect engineering, including oxygen vacancies and chemisorbed oxygen ions and surface stoichiometry of WO3. We established a correlation between the H2 sensing mechanism of WO3, sensor signal magnitude, the amount of adsorbed oxygen ions, and sensor testing temperature. This paper also provides a review of the detection, quantification, and identification of different adsorbed oxygen species. The different surface and bulk-sensitive characterization techniques relevant to analyzing the SMOs-based sensor are tabulated, providing the sensor designer with the chemical, physical, and electronic information extracted from each technique.

Insights into the electronic structure of hydroxyl on Ag(110) under near ambient conditions

Adsorbed hydroxyl is a key intermediate present in many catalytic reactions and electrochemical processes. In particular, hydroxyl adsorbed on noble metal surfaces has attracted attention due to its role in water-gas shift, selective oxidation of hydrocarbons and water splitting. In this work, from a well-defined oxygen covered Ag(110) surface with O-p(2 × 1) reconstruction, we prepared a fully hydroxylated surface phase in equilibrium with water and oxygen in the gas phase under near ambient conditions. In situ soft X-ray spectroscopy combined with density functional theory revealed distinctive modifications in the electronic structure of the adsorbate layer upon hydroxylation. We show that both the core and valence electronic states of OH adsorbates have higher binding energies relative to the Fermi level than the states for the O adsorbate. The OH orbitals interact with the d band of Ag giving rise to hybridized orbitals with bonding and anti-bonding symmetry, with larger energy splitting than the oxygen adsorbate.

Surface composition of AgPd single-atom alloy catalyst in an oxidative environment

Single-atom alloys (SAAs) have recently gained considerable attention in the field of heterogeneous catalysis research due to their potential for novel catalytic properties. While SAAs are often examined in reactions of reductive atmospheres, such as hydrogenation reactions, in the present work, we change the focus to AgPd SAAs in oxidative environments since Pd has the highest catalytic activity of all metals for oxidative reactions. Here, we examine how the chemical reactivity of AgPd SAAs differs from its constituent Pd in an oxidative atmosphere. For this purpose, electronic structure changes in an Ag_0.98Pd_0.02 SAA foil in 1 mbar of O₂ were studied by in situ x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and compared with the electronic structure of a Pd foil under the same conditions. When heated in an oxidative atmosphere, Pd in Ag_0.98Pd_0.02 partly oxidizes and forms a metastable PdO_x surface oxide. By using a peak area modeling procedure, we conclude that PdO_x on Ag_0.98Pd_0.02 is present as thin, possibly monolayer thick, PdO_x islands on the surface. In comparison to the PdO formed on the Pd foil, the PdO_x formed on AgPd is substantially less thermodynamically stable, decomposing at temperatures about 270 °C lower than the native oxide on Pd. Such behavior is an interesting property of oxides formed on dilute alloys, which could be potentially utilized in catalytic oxidative reactions such as methane oxidation.

Catalytic resonance theory: parallel reaction pathway control

Catalytic enhancement of chemical reactions via heterogeneous materials occurs through stabilization of transition states at designed active sites, but dramatically greater rate acceleration on that same active site can be achieved when the surface intermediates oscillate in binding energy. The applied oscillation amplitude and frequency can accelerate reactions orders of magnitude above the catalytic rates of static systems, provided the active site dynamics are tuned to the natural frequencies of the surface chemistry. In this work, differences in the characteristics of parallel reactions are exploited via selective application of active site dynamics (0 < ΔU < 1.0 eV amplitude, 10⁻⁶ < f < 10⁴ Hz frequency) to control the extent of competing reactions occurring on the shared catalytic surface. Simulation of multiple parallel reaction systems with broad range of variation in chemical parameters revealed that parallel chemistries are highly tunable in selectivity between either pure product, even when specific products are not selectively produced under static conditions. Two mechanisms leading to dynamic selectivity control were identified: (i) surface thermodynamic control of one product species under strong binding conditions, or (ii) catalytic resonance of the kinetics of one reaction over the other. These dynamic parallel pathway control strategies applied to a host of simulated chemical conditions indicate significant potential for improving the catalytic performance of many important industrial chemical reactions beyond their existing static performance.

Branched catalytic reaction networks with oscillating chemical pathways perfectly select for reaction products at varying frequency.

Off-Stoichiometric Reactions at the Cell-Substrate Biomolecular Interface of Biomaterials: In Situ and Ex Situ Monitoring of Cell Proliferation, Differentiation, and Bone Tissue Formation

The availability of osteoinductive biomaterials has encouraged new therapies in bone regeneration and has potentially triggered paradigmatic shifts in the development of new implants in orthopedics and dentistry. Among several available synthetic biomaterials, bioceramics have gained attention for their ability to induce mesenchymal cell differentiation and successive bone formation when implanted in the human body. However, there is currently a lack of understanding regarding the fundamental biochemical mechanisms by which these materials can induce bone formation. Phenomenological studies of retrievals have clarified the final effect of bone formation, but have left the chemical interactions at the cell-material interface uncharted. Accordingly, the knowledge of the intrinsic material properties relevant for osteoblastogenesis and osteoinduction remains incomplete. Here, we systematically monitored in vitro the chemistry of mesenchymal cell metabolism and the ionic exchanges during osteoblastogenesis on selected substrates through conventional biological assays as well as via in situ and ex situ spectroscopic techniques. Accordingly, the chemical behavior of different bioceramic substrates during their interactions with mesenchymal cells could be unfolded and compared with that of biomedical titanium alloy. Our goal was to clarify the cascade of chemical equations behind the biological processes that govern osteoblastogenic effects on different biomaterial substrates.

Ca-Ag compounds in ethylene epoxidation reaction

The ethylene epoxidation is a challenging catalytic process, and development of active and selective catalyst requires profound understanding of its chemical behaviour under reaction conditions. The systematic study on intermetallic compounds in the Ca-Ag system under ethylene epoxidation conditions clearly shows that the character of the oxidation processes on the surface originates from the atomic interactions in the pristine compound. The Ag-rich compounds Ca₂Ag₇ and CaAg₂ undergo oxidation towards fcc Ag and a complex Ca-based support, whereas equiatomic CaAg and the Ca-rich compounds Ca₅Ag₃ and Ca₃Ag in bulk remain stable under harsh ethylene epoxidation conditions. For the latter presence of water vapour in the gas stream leads to noticeable corrosion. Combining the experimental results with the chemical bonding analysis and first-principles calculations, the relationships among the chemical nature of the compounds, their reactivity and catalytic performance towards epoxidation of ethylene are investigated.

A mini review of in situ near-ambient pressure XPS studies on non-noble, late transition metal catalysts

The rich surface chemistry of Fe, Co, Ni and Cu during heterogeneous catalytic reactions from the perspective of NAP-XPS studies.

Enantioselective Epoxypyrrolidines via a Tandem Cycloaddition/Autoxidation in Air and Mechanistic Studies

A tandem cycloaddition/autoxidation reaction between heterocyclic ketene aminals and diazoester in air is described for the enantioselective preparation of epoxypyrrolidines. Notably, the results of mechanistic studies suggest that epoxide was oxidized from an sp³ C-C single bond, which is of mechanistic and practical interest as this protocol may be suitable for constructing other bioactive heterocyclic epoxides.

Anisotropic Reactivity of CaAg under Ethylene Epoxidation Conditions

The chemical behavior of CaAg as catalyst for ethylene epoxidation was studied using a combination of experimental (X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy), and quantum chemical techniques as well as real-space chemical bonding analysis. Under oxidative ethylene epoxidation conditions, the CaAg (010) surface possesses an outstanding stability during long-term experiments. It is caused by the formation of an ordered, stable and dense CaO passivation layer with a small amount of embedded Ag atoms. On this way, the (010) surface constitutes a kinetic barrier for further incorporation of oxygen into the subsurface region and thereby prevents  further oxidative decomposition of CaAg. The calculated adsorption energies of the reaction species show strong adsorption of the reaction products that may explain the observed low conversion of ethylene toward ethylene oxide using CaAg as catalyst.