Crystal Imperfections of Industrial Vanadium Phosphorous Oxide Catalysts

This study presents information about crystal imperfections in the main phase of industrial vanadium phosphorous oxide catalysts that are used to catalyze the oxidation of n-butane to maleic anhydride, being an important intermediate in the chemical industry. The mechanism of this reaction is still debated, and the catalytically active and selective surface centers have not yet been identified. The results presented are based on X-ray diffraction data obtained by both laboratory-scale and synchrotron powder diffraction experiments, as well as laboratory-scale single-crystal diffraction experiments. It has been proven that pronounced Bragg reflection broadening effects found in laboratory-scale powder diffraction patterns of industrial VPO catalysts are real and not due to an insufficient 2-θ resolution of the apparatus. In the framework of this work, a powder diffraction full profile fitting strategy was developed using the TOPAS software, which was applied to analyze the X-ray diffraction data of four differently activated industrial catalyst samples, originating from one batch after they had been catalytically tested. It was found that the reflection broadening is mainly caused by an anisotropic crystal size, which results in platelet-shaped crystallites of vanadyl pyrophosphate. A further contribution to the reflex broadening, especially for (111), was found to be a result of stacking faults perpendicular to the a direction in the crystal structure of vanadyl pyrophosphate. These results were used to elaborate on possible correlations between structural proxies and catalytic performance. A direct correlation between the extension of coherently scattering domains in the z direction and the catalyst’s selectivity could be proven, whereas the activity turned out to be dependent on the crystallite shape. Regarding the phase contents, it could be shown that sample catalysts containing a higher amount of β-VO(PO3)2 showed increased catalytic activity.

Thermal expansion and phase transformation in the rare earth di-titanate (R 2Ti2O7) system

Characterization of the thermal expansion in the rare earth di-titanates is important for their use in high-temperature structural and dielectric applications. Powder samples of the rare earth di-titanates R 2Ti2O7 (or R 2O3·2TiO2), where R = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Er, Yb, Y, which crystallize in either the monoclinic or cubic phases, were synthesized for the first time by the solution-based steric entrapment method. The three-dimensional thermal expansions of these polycrystalline powder samples were measured by in situ synchrotron powder diffraction from 25°C to 1600°C in air, nearly 600°C higher than other in situ thermal expansion studies. The high temperatures in synchrotron experiments were achieved with a quadrupole lamp furnace. Neutron powder diffraction measured the monoclinic phases from 25°C to 1150°C. The La2Ti2O7 member of the rare earth di-titanates undergoes a monoclinic to orthorhombic displacive transition on heating, as shown by synchrotron diffraction in air at 885°C (864°C–904°C) and neutron diffraction at 874°C (841°C–894°C).

Powder X-ray diffraction data for dimethylarsinic acid, (CH3)2AsO(OH)

Synchrotron powder diffraction data is presented for the monoclinic polymorph of dimethylarsinic acid, (CH3)2AsO(OH) (DMAV). Rietveld refinement with GSASII yielded lattice parameters of a = 15.9264(15) Å, b = 6.53999(8) Å, c = 11.3401(9) Å, and β = 125.8546(17)° (Z = 8, space group C2/c). The Rietveld-refined structure was compared with both a density functional theory (DFT)-optimized structure and the published, low-temperature single-crystal structure, and all three structures exhibited excellent agreement. The triclinic polymorph of DMAV was also DFT optimized with CRYSTAL17 to determine the positions of the hydrogen atoms. Monoclinic DMAV forms zigzag chains parallel to the b-axis with adjacent DMAV molecules connected by an O–H⋯O bond, whereas triclinic DMAV forms dimers connected by two O–H⋯O bonds.

Understanding the Deactivation Phenomena of Small-Pore Mo/H-SSZ-13 during Methane Dehydroaromatisation

Small pore zeolites have shown great potential in a number of catalytic reactions. While Mo-containing medium pore zeolites have been widely studied for methane dehydroaromatisation (MDA), the use of small pore supports has drawn limited attention due to the fast deactivation of the catalyst. This work investigates the structure of the small pore Mo/H-SSZ-13 during catalyst preparation and reaction by operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), in situ synchrotron powder diffraction (SPD), and electron microscopy; then, the results are compared with the medium pore Mo/H-ZSM-5. While SPD suggests that during catalyst preparation, part of the MoOx anchors inside the pores, Mo dispersion and subsequent ion exchange was less effective in the small pore catalyst, resulting in the formation of mesopores and Al2(MOO4)3 particles. Unlike Mo/H-ZSM-5, part of the Mo species in Mo/H-SSZ-13 undergoes full reduction to Mo0 during MDA, whereas characterisation of the spent catalyst indicates that differences also exist in the nature of the formed carbon deposits. Hence, the different Mo speciation and the low performance on small pore zeolites can be attributed to mesopores formation during calcination and the ineffective ion exchange into well dispersed Mo-oxo sites. The results open the scope for the optimisation of synthetic routes to explore the potential of small pore topologies.

Structural study of decrespignyite-(Y), a complex yttrium rare earth copper carbonate chloride, by three-dimensional electron and synchrotron powder diffraction

The crystal structure of the mineral decrespignyite-(Y) from the Paratoo copper mine (South Australia) has been obtained by applying δ recycling direct methods to 3D electron diffraction (ED) data followed by Rietveld refinements of synchrotron data. The unit cell is a= 8.5462(2), c= 22.731(2) Å and V= 1437.8(2) Å3, and the chemical formula for Z=1 is (Y10.35REE1.43Ca0.52Cu5.31)Σ17.61(CO3)14Cl2.21(OH)16.79⋅18.35H2O (REE: rare earth elements). The ED data are compatible with the trigonal P3‾m1 space group (no. 164) used for the structure solution (due to the disorder affecting part of the structure, the possibility of a monoclinic unit cell cannot completely be ruled out). The structure shows metal layers perpendicular to [001], with six independent positions for Y, REE and Cu (sites M1 to M4 are full, and sites M5 and M6 are partially vacant), and two other sites, Cu1 and Cu2, partially occupied by Cu. One characteristic of decrespignyite is the existence of hexanuclear (octahedral) oxo-hydroxo yttrium clusters [Y6(μ6-O)(μ3-OH)8O24] (site M1) with the 24 bridging O atoms belonging to two sets of symmetry-independent (CO3)2− ions, with the first set (2×) along a ternary axis giving rise to a layer of hexanuclear clusters and the second set (6×) tilted and connecting the hexanuclear clusters with hetero-tetranuclear ones hosting Cu, Y and REE (M2 and M3 sites). The rest of the crystal structure consists of two consecutive M3 + M4 layers containing the partially occupied M5, M6, and Cu2 sites and additional carbonate anions in between. The resulting structure model is compatible with the chemical analysis of the type material which is poorer in Cu and richer in (REE, Y) than the above-described material.