Textural, Structural and Catalytic Properties of ZnCr2O4–A12O3 Ternary Solid Catalysts

Abstract

Two series of ternary solid catalysts containing Al, Cr and Zn but with different ZN2+ or Cr3+ ion contents were prepared by impregnation methods. All systems were calcined by heating within the temperature range 773–1073 K. Structural characterization of the systems was effected by X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods and by differential thermal analysis (DTA). The textural properties of the precalcined products were measured from adsorption/desorption studies of nitrogen at 77 K. The surface acidities of the precalcined products were also studied using a poisoning method employing pyridine as the probe base. The adsorption and disproportionation of NO at 298 K was followed via in-situ FT-IR spectroscopic methods, while the catalytic activities of the prepared samples towards the dehydration (DHD)/dehydrogenation (DHG) of propan-2-ol were studied using a pulse microcatalytic technique. XRD and DTA analyses showed the presence of γ-A12O3 and ZnCr2O4 in the prepared samples but did not provide any evidence for other detectable species in the ternary solid materials. The disproportionation of NO, as well as the catalytic conversion of propan-2-ol, was apparently strongly influenced by the structural properties of these materials but to a lesser extent by their textural properties.