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New Advances in Heterogeneous Catalysis Materials

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Catalytic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2023) | Viewed by 9272

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Klaus Stowe

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Guest Editor

Chemical Technology, Institute for Chemistry, Natural Science Faculty, Chemnitz Technical University, Chemnitz, Germany
Interests: heterogeneous catalysis (combinatorial and high-throughput catalyst discovery and optimization; catalyst design; reaction kinetics; adsorption phenomena; SCR; automotive emissions control; electrocatalysts and fuel cells; CO2 utilization; microstructured reactors); materials synthesis by CC and HTE (energy storage materials; nanoscaled chalcogenides)
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to an urgently needed change in the use of raw materials as well as an increasing demand for enduring storage of electrical power from renewable energy sources, new catalyst materials and advanced concepts for the utilization of biomass for industrially relevant basic chemicals as well as Power-To-X (gas, liquid, and heat) technologies represent major challenges these days. Current industrial processes and catalyst-based environmental technologies have to be transformed into more green and sustainable procedures to achieve the objective of climate neutrality in the carbon cycle. To realize a continuous transition from a fossil fuel-based economy into a climate-neutral economy, chemical conversions of the most important greenhouse gas—carbon dioxide—into basic chemicals by catalytic or electrocatalytic processes must also be intensified. Finally, the return of already existing products and micro-pollutants must be given an increased focus with the objective to integrate them into these new raw material cycles by catalytic processes. The urgency of achieving all these goals as quickly as possible also makes it necessary to use accelerated search strategies for catalysts such as high-throughput methods.

Prof. Dr. Klaus Stowe
Guest Editor

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Keywords

heterogeneous catalysis
catalysts
biomass transformation
power-to-gas
power-to-liquid
advanced materials
advanced concepts

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 9977 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Photoelectrocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue on Electrodeposited Bismuth Ferrite Perovskite Films

by Oluchi V. Nkwachukwu, Charles Muzenda, Kehinde D. Jayeola, Tsholofelo I. Sebokolodi, Dimpo S. Sipuka, Marc Cretin, Minghua Zhou, Duduzile Nkosi and Omotayo A. Arotiba

Materials 2023, 16(7), 2769; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16072769 - 30 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1506

Abstract

Electrodeposited bismuth ferrite (BiFeO₃) thin films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate were employed as photoanodes in the photoelectrocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. The BiFeO₃ thin films electrodeposited for 300 s, 600 s, 1200 s, 1800 s and 3600 s were characterised with XRD, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. SEM images displayed different morphology at different electrodeposition times which affects the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) performances. The FESEM cross-sectional area was used to measure the thickness of the film. The optical properties showed that the band gaps of the photoanodes were increasing as the electrodeposition time increased. The photocurrent response obtained showed that all thin film photoanodes responded to visible light and lower charge transfer resistance (from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies) was observed with photoanodes electrodeposited at a shorter time compared to those at a longer time. The PEC application of the photoanode for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye in water showed that the percentage degradation decreased with an increase in electrodeposition time with removal rates of 97.6% and 70% observed in 300 s and 3600 s electrodeposition time, respectively. The extent of mineralisation was measured by total organic carbon and reusability studies were carried out. Control experiments such as adsorption, photolysis, photocatalysis and electrocatalysis processes were also investigated in comparison with PEC. The electrodeposition approach with citric acid exhibited improved electrode stability while mitigating the problem of catalyst leaching or peeling off during the PEC process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advances in Heterogeneous Catalysis Materials)

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14 pages, 4426 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Catalytic Activity of LaFe_0.4Ni_0.6O₃/CeO₂ Composites in CO and CH₄ Oxidation Depending on Their Preparation Conditions

by Lyubov Isupova, Evgeny Gerasimov, Igor Prosvirin and Vladimir Rogov

Materials 2023, 16(3), 1142; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16031142 - 29 Jan 2023

Viewed by 938

Abstract

LaFe_0.4Ni_0.6O₃/CeO₂ (1:1) two-phase composite materials were prepared by mechanochemical (MC) and Pechini routes. The catalytic properties of the composites in methane and CO oxidation reactions strongly depend on their preparation conditions. In low-temperature (<600 °C) catalytic CO oxidation the composites demonstrate a higher activity compared with LaFe_0.4Ni_0.6O₃ perovskite. The highest activity was observed for the composite prepared by mechanical treatment of perovskite and fluorite precursors. There is a correlation between activity and the content of weakly bound surface oxygen species. Catalytic activity in high-temperature (>750 °C) catalytic methane oxidation correlates with the reducibility of samples. The highest activity was observed for the composite prepared by the one-pot Pechini route with higher reducibility of the sample up to 600 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advances in Heterogeneous Catalysis Materials)

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23 pages, 4382 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Leaching Stability and Redox Activity of Copper-MFI Zeolites Prepared by Solid-State Transformations: Comparison with Ion-Exchanged and Impregnated Samples

by Svetlana A. Yashnik, Tatjana A. Surovtsova, Anton V. Salnikov and Valentin N. Parmon

Materials 2023, 16(2), 671; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16020671 - 10 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1172

Abstract

The catalyst preparation route is well known to affect the copper loading and its electronic state, which influence the properties of the resulting catalyst. Electronic states of copper ions in copper-containing silicalites with the MFI-framework topology obtained by a solid-state transformation S (SST) were studied with using EPR, UV-Vis DR, XRD, H₂-TPR and chemical differentiating dissolution. They were compared with Cu-ZSM-5 and Cu-MFI (silicalite) prepared via the ion-exchange and incipient wetness impregnation. SST route was shown to provide the formation of MFI structure and favor clustering of Cu-ions near surface and subsurface of zeolite crystals. The square-planar oxide clusters of Cu²⁺-ions and the finely dispersed CuO nanoparticles with the size down to 20 nm were revealed in Cu-MFI-SST samples with low (0.5–1.0 wt.%) and high (16 wt.%) Cu-content. The CuO nanoparticles were characterized by energy band gap 1–1.16 eV. The CuO-like clusters were characterized by ligand-to-metal charge transfer band (CTB L → M) at 32,000 cm⁻¹ and contain EPR-visible surface Cu²⁺-ions. The low Cu-loaded SST-samples had poor redox properties and activity towards different solvents due to decoration of copper-species by silica; whereas CuO nanoparticles were easily removed from the catalyst by HCl. In the ion-exchanged samples over MFI-silicalite and ZSM-5, Cu²⁺-ions were mainly CuO-like clusters and isolated Cu²⁺ ions inside MFI channels. Their redox properties and tendency to dissolve in acidic solutions differed from the behavior of SST-series samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advances in Heterogeneous Catalysis Materials)

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9 pages, 2683 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Highly-Efficient and Visible Light Photocatalytical Degradation of Organic Pollutants Using TiO₂-Loaded on Low-Cost Biomass Husk

by Yuan Li, Xirong Lin, Zhanpeng Li and Jinyun Liu

Materials 2022, 15(23), 8671; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15238671 - 05 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1064

Abstract

A composite composing of TiO₂ nanoparticles load on biomass rice husk (RH) is developed by directly growing TiO₂ nanoparticles on RH. The in-situ growth of the nanocrystals on RH is achieved by a low-cost and one-step homogeneous precipitation. Rapid hydrolysis proceeds at 90 °C by using ammonium fluotitanate and urea to facilitate the selective growth of TiO₂. The method provides an easy access to the TiO₂-RH composite with a strong interaction between TiO₂ nanoparticles and the underlying RH. The structure and composition of TiO₂-RH are characterized by using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. TiO₂ nanoparticles-RH exhibits a good photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange. The results show that 92% of methyl orange (20 mg L⁻¹) can be degraded within three hours in visible light. The catalytic activity of the composite is not reduced after 6 cycles, and it still reaches 81% after 6 cycles. The enhanced performance is ascribed to the suitable particle size the good dispersibility. It is expected that the high photocatalytical performance and the cost-effective composite presented here will inspire the development of other high-performance photocatalysts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advances in Heterogeneous Catalysis Materials)

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12 pages, 2537 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Magnesium Oxide on the Structure and Catalytic Activity of the Wustite Catalyst for Ammonia Synthesis

by Artur Jurkowski, Aleksander Albrecht, Dariusz Moszyński, Rafał Pelka and Zofia Lendzion-Bieluń

Materials 2022, 15(23), 8309; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15238309 - 23 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1124

Abstract

The influence of a magnesium oxide admixture on the activation process and catalytic activity of the iron catalyst with a wustite structure was investigated during the ammonia synthesis reaction. The incorporation of magnesium oxide into wustite grains is considered to be a structure-forming and activating promoter. It stabilizes the α-Fe structure and increases the activity of the catalysts in the ammonia synthesis reaction. Moreover, magnesium oxide forms a solid solution with the wustite, which slows down the reduction of a catalyst precursor. Similar to calcium and potassium compounds, magnesium oxide is present on the α-Fe surface of the active form of the catalyst. The optimum MgO concentration in the catalyst structure was determined to be 1.2% wt. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advances in Heterogeneous Catalysis Materials)

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12 pages, 1897 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Recruiting Perovskites to Degrade Toxic Trinitrotoluene

by Yuri A. Mastrikov, Roman Tsyshevsky, Fenggong Wang and Maija M. Kuklja

Materials 2021, 14(23), 7387; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14237387 - 02 Dec 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1476

Abstract

Everybody knows TNT, the most widely used explosive material and a universal measure of the destructiveness of explosions. A long history of use and extensive manufacture of toxic TNT leads to the accumulation of these materials in soil and groundwater, which is a significant concern for environmental safety and sustainability. Reliable and cost-efficient technologies for removing or detoxifying TNT from the environment are lacking. Despite the extreme urgency, this remains an outstanding challenge that often goes unnoticed. We report here that highly controlled energy release from explosive molecules can be accomplished rather easily by preparing TNT–perovskite mixtures with a tailored perovskite surface morphology at ambient conditions. These results offer new insight into understanding the sensitivity of high explosives to detonation initiation and enable many novel applications, such as new concepts in harvesting and converting chemical energy, the design of new, improved energetics with tunable characteristics, the development of powerful fuels and miniaturized detonators, and new ways for eliminating toxins from land and water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advances in Heterogeneous Catalysis Materials)

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Review

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28 pages, 6120 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Anatomy of Amorphous, Heterogeneous Catalyst Pellets

by Sean P. Rigby

Materials 2023, 16(8), 3205; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16083205 - 18 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1223

Abstract

This review focuses on disordered, or amorphous, porous heterogeneous catalysts, especially those in the forms of pellets and monoliths. It considers the structural characterisation and representation of the void space of these porous media. It discusses the latest developments in the determination of key void space descriptors, such as porosity, pore size, and tortuosity. In particular, it discusses the contributions that can be made by various imaging modalities in both direct and indirect characterisations and their limitations. The second part of the review considers the various types of representations of the void space of porous catalysts. It was found that these come in three main types, which are dependent on the level of idealisation of the representation and the final purpose of the model. It was found that the limitations on the resolution and field of view for direct imaging methods mean that hybrid methods, combined with indirect porosimetry methods that can bridge the many length scales of structural heterogeneity and provide more statistically representative parameters, deliver the best basis for model construction for understanding mass transport in highly heterogeneous media. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advances in Heterogeneous Catalysis Materials)

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