Reaction mechanism of skeletal isomerization of n-butane over Cs2.5H0.5P W12O40 catalyst was studied using 13C MAS NMR.The reaction proceeds mainly via a monomolecular mechanism at 80℃. The contribution of the bimolecular mechanism becomes more significant as the reaction temperature is increased to 150℃. Hydrogen suppresses the bimolecular mechanism, in particular on Pt-promoted Cs2. 5H0. 5P W12 O40 catalyst. The latter catalyst is highly selective to isobutane in the presence of H2 even at 220℃. The kinetics of the monomolecular isomerization reaction and the reaction schemes of 13C scrambling and n-butane isomerization are discussed.

The effects of pore structure on the reaction rates and selectivities in the liquid-phase hydrogenation of 2-ethylanthraquinone over Ni-B amorphous alloy catalysts prepared by the reductant-impregnation method were studied using regular (HMS, MCM-41, and SBA-15) and commercial mesoporous silicas as supports. The composition, particle size, and location of the Ni-B particles were profoundly influenced by the pore structure of the supports. It is found that the location of the Ni-B particles depended on the pore size of the supports, whereas the uniformity of particle size was related to the interaction between the Ni-B particles and the supports. The hydrogenation rate was much faster on Ni-B catalysts with pore diameters exceeding 5 nm than on the narrow-pore catalysts, whereas the selectivity to 2-ethyldihydroanthraquinone, the carbonyl group hydrogenation product, was higher on Ni-B catalysts supported on regular mesoporous silicas. The best activity and selectivity were achieved when using SBA-15 as the support, which is attributable to the formation of more uniform active sites due to the unique pore structure of SBA-15.

ZEOLITES derive their catalytic activity from the strong acidity of protons attached to the negatively charged aluminosilicate frame-work, which makes the materials excellent proton donors. Unlike zeolites, the aluminophosphate molecular sieves1,2 are built from alternating AIO4 and PO tetrahedra and are thus electrically neutral. Much attention has therefore been devoted to the genera-tion of Br0nsted acidity in these materials by introducing het-eroatoms, such as Si, Mg, Fe, Co or Zn, to produce negatively charged frameworks3-6. Similar arguments apply to gallophos-phate molecular sieves7-10, of which cioverite9,to is a remarkable example. This extra-large-pore material contains pore openings in the form of a four-leafed clover, defined by a ring of 20 gallium and phosphorus atoms, some of which are linked to terminal hydroxyl groups. Here we use NMR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ESCA) and infrared spectroscopy to show that the P-OH groups in cloverite are localized versions of those in solid phosphoric acid, H3PO4. Cloverite is thus a strong Br0nsted acid even though no heteroatoms are present in its framework.

Effect of MgAl2O4 on the structure, acidity as well as the catalytic performance of Nb2O5/-Al2O3 catalyst for ethylene oxide hydration was studied using IR, XRD, NH3-TPD, CO2-TPD and catalytic reaction. Modification of Al2O3 support with MgAl2O4 led to an increase in both basicity and mechanical strength of the support. As a result, the density and strength of the acidity of the niobium oxide catalyst supported on the MgAl2O4 modified -Al2O3 reduced in comparison with that supported on the pure -Al2O3. The acidity of 10% Nb2O5/MgAl2O4/-Al2O3 decreased with increasing loading of MgAl2O4. Catalytic test showed that EO conversion decreased monotonously with increasing MgAl2O4 loading, whereas the selectivity to MEG exhibited a maximum of 90.6% at MgAl2O4 loading of 2.23%. In terms of MEG yield, optimal MgAl2O4 loading should be around 2%. Durability test emonstrated that 10% Nb2O5/MgAl2O4/-Al2O3 catalyst exhibited excellent stability within 1000 h time-on-stream.

The synthesis of DPA-VPI-5 and TBA-VPI-5 and their phase transformation to AIPO4-8 have been studied by X-ray diffraction in situ. The synchrotron radiation-energy dispersive diffraction is shown to be able to monitor these two fast reactions in real time. The results indicate that nucleation may occur already during the aging of the synthesis gel. The different rates oftransformtion of DPA-VPI-5 and TBA-VPI-5 show that the microstructure of the two materials is different.