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Atomically Dispersed Ru-Supported Cu-Ceria Catalysts for Selective 1-Octanol Ammoxidation
Chaoqi Chen1, Fanny Hanon2, Hayato Tsuchiya3
1Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science/Research Center for Materials Science (RCMS)/Integrated Research Consortium on Chemical Sciences (IRCCS), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan.
Atomically dispersed ruthenium catalysts on copper-ceria demonstrate superior performance in aliphatic alcohol ammoxidation. This breakthrough highlights the importance of atomic dispersion for selective catalysis and catalyst stability.
Area of Science:
- Catalysis
- Materials Science
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Selective ammoxidation of aliphatic alcohols is crucial for synthesizing valuable nitriles.
- Developing highly active and stable catalysts remains a significant challenge in this field.
- The role of metal nanoparticle size and dispersion on catalytic activity is an active area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize atomically dispersed ruthenium catalysts on copper-ceria supports.
- To investigate the catalytic performance of these novel catalysts in the ammoxidation of aliphatic alcohols.
- To elucidate the structure-activity relationship, particularly the effect of ruthenium dispersion on selectivity and stability.
Main Methods:
- Preparation of atomically dispersed Ru catalysts (Ru(AD)-Cu-CeOz) by dispersing Ru species on Cu-containing ceria.
- Preparation of Ru nanocluster catalysts (Ru(NC)-Cu-CeOz) for comparison.
- Evaluation of catalytic performance in the ammoxidation of aliphatic alcohols, including 1-octanol.
- Characterization of catalyst stability under reaction conditions.
Main Results:
- Ru(AD)-Cu-CeOz catalysts exhibited markedly high catalytic performance in aliphatic alcohol ammoxidation.
- Selective ammoxidation was achieved with Ru(AD)-Cu-CeOz, unlike the non-selective Ru(NC)-Cu-CeOz catalyst.
- Atomically dispersed Ru species were identified as key to selective 1-octanol ammoxidation.
- The atomically dispersed Ru species demonstrated stability under the applied ammoxidation conditions.
Conclusions:
- Atomically dispersed ruthenium species on Cu-CeOz are highly effective for selective aliphatic alcohol ammoxidation.
- Catalyst design focusing on atomic dispersion is critical for achieving high selectivity and stability.
- These findings offer a promising pathway for the efficient synthesis of nitriles from alcohols.
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