铜纳米颗粒催化剂的重构及其合成碳酸二甲酯性能研究

Reconstruction of copper nanoparticles catalysts and its catalytic performance for synthesis of dimethyl carbonate

  • 摘要: 甲醇氧化羰基化合成碳酸二甲酯(DMC)是中国重点开发的现代煤化工路线,其关键在于高性能催化剂的设计研发。本研究采用液相重构法,通过调变溶剂种类、气氛和压力制得高效铜团簇催化剂,在DMC合成反应中时空收率(STYDMC)高达3520 mg/(g·h),经过10次循环,STYDMC下降21.8%。N2吸附-脱附、XRD、TEM、STEM等表征手段表明,强还原性的CO不但可使铜纳米颗粒(~9.7 nm)部分重构为亚纳米团簇(~1.34 nm),同时有效维持了Cu0物种的存在,从而提升了催化活性和稳定性。进一步研究表明,铜重构的发生取决于气氛-金属-载体三者的相互作用,且随氧化、还原性气氛的变化呈可逆状态。

     

    Abstract: Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is an important and environmentally friendly chemical intermediate to meet the growing demand for a clean and sustainable energy supply. Among several routes for DMC synthesis, the oxidative carbonylation of methanol has attracted much attention with the advantages of a high utilization rate of carbon source, moderate operating conditions and environmental benefits. More importantly, the oxidative carbonylation of methanol is an important development route of modern coal chemical industry in China, and the key lies in the design of highly efficient catalysts. Copper-based catalysts have been used extensively in this reaction. Problems, such as reactor corrosion and catalyst deactivation, occur with chlorine-containing catalysts. The development of chlorine-free catalysts is the focus of current research. Recently, Cu-based catalysts supported on carbon materials have been used extensively in DMC synthesis because of its high activity, high selectivity and facile preparation process. However, the carbon-supported Cu catalysts suffer from the leaching and aggregation of Cu nanoparticles (NPs) in the harsh reaction conditions of high temperature, high pressure as well as severe stirring, leading to the deactivation. It has become a key scienctific problem that needs to be addressed urgently. In our previous studies, several strategies have been attempted to solve the deactivation problem caused by these reasons. For instance, encapsulating Cu NPs with hollow porous carbon spheres or mesoporous carbon materials. Besides, the introduction of N species in the carbon framework or sulfonic acid groups and oxygen-containing groups on the surface of carbon materials leads to an anchoring effect on Cu NPs. Great progress has been made via these methods, yet still unsatisfactory. Supported metal clusters have adjacent metal sites, countable numbers of atoms in each clusters, and limited size range (normally smaller than 2 nm). Benefiting from these distinct geometric and electronic structures, supported metal clusters can trigger synergistic effects among every metal atom, and thus exhibiting enhanced catalytic activity and selectivity in catalysis. Besides, the strong metal-support interaction on supported metal clusters improve the stability of metal clusters, enhancing the catalytic stability. To prevent the aggregation of metal clusters, the metal loading of supported metal clusters catalysts are generally kept at a low level (≤1%). However, catalysts with insufficient numbers of active sites always lead to compromised mass-activity, which greatly restrict them from industrial applications. Hence, the synthesis of supported metal clusters with high metal loading and high stability is a great challenge. In this study, the Cu clusters catalysts with high Cu loading were synthesized via liquid phase reconstruction method under the condition of water and CO. The optimal 15Cu/NCNS-12-CO exhibited superb activity with STYDMC of 3520 mg/(g·h) and stability with the loss rate of 28% after 10 cycles. A series of characterization showed that the strongly reducing CO not only resulted in the partial reconstruction of copper nanoparticles (from ~9.7 nm to ~1.34 nm), but also effectively maintained the existence of Cu0 species, improving the catalytic activity and stability. Further investigation showed that the reconstruction of Cu nanoparticles was dependent on the interaction of atmosphere-metal-support, and was reversible under the oxidation and reducing atmosphere.

     

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