Generation of protonic acid sites originating from molecular hydrogen on the surface of zirconium oxide promoted by sulfate ion and platinum

Abstract

An infrared spectroscopic study of pyridine adsorbed on the surface of zirconium oxide promoted by both sulfate ions and platinum shows that molecular hydrogen converts into protonic acid sites on the surface with concomitant decrease in Lewis acid sites at temperatures above 423 K. It seems that the molecular hydrogen in vapor phase is dissociated on platinum to form hydrogen atoms which migrate onto the oxide and loose their electrons to convert into protonic sites