SusChEM: Dispersed Metal Oxides for the Sustainable Production of Propylene

1605101这项研究旨在开发一种用于丙烷氧化脱氢制丙烯(ODHP)的高效催化剂，作为传统工艺的替代品，以满足工业对丙烯的巨大需求，作为一种化工中间体，用于生产各种增值产品。这项工作的动机是大量的能源节约机会和页岩气资源的有效利用，以保持美国化学工业的竞争力。与现有技术相比，ODHP提供了一种热力学上更有利的生产丙烯的方法，假设反应选择性可以控制，以避免浪费的过度燃烧。基于负载型氧化钒材料的催化剂已经得到了广泛的研究，众所周知，氧化钒的分散性和载体材料的选择都对催化剂的活性和选择性起着重要的控制作用。丙烯生产的选择性受到二维(2D)钒物种的青睐，研究小组最近获得了此类物种在二氧化硅上的负载量，远远高于以前被认为代表最大分散极限的水平。高分散度被发现与二氧化硅中的钠促进剂有关，从而导致了一个工作假设，即钠催化形成分散的2D钒，相对于较不活跃和选择性较低的3D粒子的成核速率。研究人员还发现，在钠的催化下，通过将氧化钽和氧化钒共同固定在二氧化硅上，可以进一步提高ODHP的速率和丙烯的选择性。这项研究将寻求通过两次推进进一步提高ODHP催化剂的活性和选择性。第一个利用CVD技术和对钠促进钒分散的机制的进一步研究(包括合成后去除钠以提高活性的研究)。第二个推力将把共固定化研究扩展到三元氧化物家族(V-M/SiO_2)，其中M将由Ta、Zr和Al等组成。研究人员拥有广泛的表征工具，可通过与苏黎世工业大学和阿贡国家实验室的合作，对这些材料的化学和结构进行详细的洞察。这项研究将广泛促进与STEM领域有关的教育和宣传，同时为适应化工和石油行业不断变化的格局的新催化剂和催化过程奠定基础。

1605101Hermans, IveThe study aims to develop an efficient catalyst for the Oxidative De-Hydrogenation of Propane (ODHP) to propylene as an alternative to conventional processes for supplying the huge industrial demand for propylene as a chemical intermediate in the production of a wide range of value-added products. The work is motivated by substantial opportunities for energy savings combined with effective utilization of shale gas resources to maintain competitiveness of the U.S. Chemical Industry.ODHP offers a thermodynamically favored route to the production of propylene versus current technologies assuming reaction selectivity can be controlled to avoid wasteful over-combustion. Catalysts based on supported vanadium oxide materials have been widely investigated, and it is known that both the dispersion of the vanadium oxide and the choice of support material play important roles in controlling the activity and selectivity. Selectivity for propylene production is favored by two-dimensional (2D) vanadia species, and the investigator's group has recently obtained loadings of such species on silica far above levels previously believed to represent a maximum dispersion limit. The high dispersion was found to be associated with a sodium promoter in the silica, leading to a working hypothesis that sodium catalyzes the formation of the dispersed 2D vanadia, relative to the nucleation rate of less active and selective 3D particles. The investigator has also found further enhancements in ODHP rates and propylene selectivity by co-immobilizing tantalum oxide and vanadium oxide on silica as catalyzed by sodium. The study will seek further enhancements in ODHP catalyst activity and selectivity via two thrusts. The first utilizes CVD techniques and additional investigation of the mechanism by which sodium promotes vanadia dispersion (including an investigation of post-synthesis removal of sodium to increase activity). The second thrust will extend the co-immobilization studies to a family of ternary oxides (V-M/SiO2) where M will consist of tantalum, zirconium, and aluminum, amongst others. The investigator has a broad range of characterization tools at his disposal to achieve detailed insight into the chemistry and structure of these materials via collaboration with ETH Zurich and Argonne National Laboratory. The study will broadly promote education and outreach related to STEM areas while laying fundamental groundwork for new catalysts and catalytic processes responsive to the changing landscape of the chemical and petroleum industries.