{"title":"Blowing in the tube","authors":"Davide Esposito","doi":"10.1038/s41929-024-01246-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The method is based on the use of silica-supported metal-precursors for each element of the targeted intermetallic compound. The team chose platinum–zinc alloys to begin with, and accordingly prepared Pt/SiO<sub>2</sub> and ZnO/SiO<sub>2</sub> precursors via incipient wetness impregnation. Such precursors are physically mixed and heated under hydrogen atmosphere in a flow reactor (pictured, panel a), with a stepped thermal profile. At a temperature between 170–350 °C platinum is first reduced under the reactive environment and forms a nucleation site (pictured, panel b). Thus, an increase in temperature to above 350 °C triggers the reduction of the ZnO with the simultaneous migration of mobile zinc atoms to the Pt seed, forming an ordered intermetallic PtZn alloy. Optimization of the synthesis parameters guided by spectroscopic characterization resulted in the formation of an alloy with a specific composition — PtZn<sub>1.4</sub>/SiO<sub>2</sub>. This material proved to be a very active catalyst for the dehydrogenation of propane to propylene, showing high selectivity under industrially relevant conditions. Thanks to a straightforward regeneration approach, the catalyst was also able to achieve a very good durability for over 1,300 h on stream. The team also extended this atomic gas-migration approach to the preparation of other intermetallic catalysts competent for propane dehydrogenation, including platinum–gallium and plating–indium.</p><p>The generality of the method, together with the possibility of preparing ordered structures, make this atomic gas-migration approach an interesting tool for the catalysis community. The successful preparation of intermetallic alloys active for other gas–solid reactions as well as the ability to scale up the synthesis of the desired material remain as questions for future studies to demonstrate the ultimate potential of this synthetic strategy.</p>","PeriodicalId":18845,"journal":{"name":"Nature Catalysis","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":42.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nature Catalysis","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-024-01246-w","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The method is based on the use of silica-supported metal-precursors for each element of the targeted intermetallic compound. The team chose platinum–zinc alloys to begin with, and accordingly prepared Pt/SiO2 and ZnO/SiO2 precursors via incipient wetness impregnation. Such precursors are physically mixed and heated under hydrogen atmosphere in a flow reactor (pictured, panel a), with a stepped thermal profile. At a temperature between 170–350 °C platinum is first reduced under the reactive environment and forms a nucleation site (pictured, panel b). Thus, an increase in temperature to above 350 °C triggers the reduction of the ZnO with the simultaneous migration of mobile zinc atoms to the Pt seed, forming an ordered intermetallic PtZn alloy. Optimization of the synthesis parameters guided by spectroscopic characterization resulted in the formation of an alloy with a specific composition — PtZn1.4/SiO2. This material proved to be a very active catalyst for the dehydrogenation of propane to propylene, showing high selectivity under industrially relevant conditions. Thanks to a straightforward regeneration approach, the catalyst was also able to achieve a very good durability for over 1,300 h on stream. The team also extended this atomic gas-migration approach to the preparation of other intermetallic catalysts competent for propane dehydrogenation, including platinum–gallium and plating–indium.
The generality of the method, together with the possibility of preparing ordered structures, make this atomic gas-migration approach an interesting tool for the catalysis community. The successful preparation of intermetallic alloys active for other gas–solid reactions as well as the ability to scale up the synthesis of the desired material remain as questions for future studies to demonstrate the ultimate potential of this synthetic strategy.
期刊介绍:
Nature Catalysis serves as a platform for researchers across chemistry and related fields, focusing on homogeneous catalysis, heterogeneous catalysis, and biocatalysts, encompassing both fundamental and applied studies. With a particular emphasis on advancing sustainable industries and processes, the journal provides comprehensive coverage of catalysis research, appealing to scientists, engineers, and researchers in academia and industry.
Maintaining the high standards of the Nature brand, Nature Catalysis boasts a dedicated team of professional editors, rigorous peer-review processes, and swift publication times, ensuring editorial independence and quality. The journal publishes work spanning heterogeneous catalysis, homogeneous catalysis, and biocatalysis, covering areas such as catalytic synthesis, mechanisms, characterization, computational studies, nanoparticle catalysis, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, environmental catalysis, asymmetric catalysis, and various forms of organocatalysis.