The pathway to total isomer selectivity: n-hexane conversion (reforming) on platinum nanoparticles supported on
Nathan Musselwhite1, Kyungsu Na, Selim Alayoglu
1Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
Abstract:
When pure mesoporous silica (MCF-17) was modified with aluminum (Al modified MCF-17), Lewis acid sites were created, but this material was inactive for the catalytic conversion (reforming) of n-hexane to isomers. When colloidally synthesized platinum nanoparticles were loaded onto traditional MCF-17, the catalyst showed very low activity toward isomer production. However, when Pt nanoparticles were loaded onto Al modified MCF-17, isomerization became the dominant catalytic pathway, with extremely high activity and selectivity (>90%), even at high temperatures (240-360 °C). This highly efficient catalytic chemistry was credited to the tandem effect between the acidic Al modified MCF-17 and the Pt metal.
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