Effective Catalytic Performance of Plasma-Enhanced W2N/AC as Catalysts for Acetylene Hydrochlorination

Abstract

It is a significant environment goal to find searching green and low-price non-precious metal catalysts to replace HgCl2 in the catalytic hydrochlorination of acetylene to yield polyvinylchloride (PVC). Transition metal nitrides exhibit excellent chemical stability and high performance in many reactions, and may be the desirable candidates for this reaction. Herein, tungsten nitride, W2N, is applied as the active ingredient in the synthesis of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), for the first time. Two catalysts were prepared. The first was prepared by depositing tungsten onto an activated carbon support, whereas the second was prepared from using the first catalyst via plasma treatment. This treatment increased the interaction between the support material and the active ingredient, and generated nanoparticles that exhibit greater level of aggregation. However, the plasma treatment also turned to enhance the catalytic performance. Additionally, it increased the number of W–N bond in the catalyst and reduced the deposition of coke on the catalyst surface.