Catalyst Today, 2004, 88, 139-151
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Catalysis Today 88 (2004) 139–151 Hydrodehalogenation with sonochemically prepared Mo2C and W2C James D. Oxley, Millan M. Mdleleni, Kenneth S. Suslick∗ School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801, USA Abstract The catalytic hydrodehalogenation (HDH) of several halogenated organic compounds was performed over sonochemically prepared molybdenum carbide and tungsten carbide at low temperatures (T = 200–300 ◦C). Both catalysts were selective, active, and stable for all substrates tested. Benzene was observed as the major product for the HDH of fluoro-, chloro-, bromo- and iodobenzene, with activities following the trend of C6H5F > C6H5Cl > C6H5Br > C6H5I. For the HDH of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Cl was selectively removed over F and alkanes were the major product. In the liquid phase, the HDH of polychlorinated and polybrominated biphenyls resulted in biphenyl as the only product. The HDH of substrates bearing aliphatic C–Cl bonds occurs faster than those with arene C–Cl bonds. Time-on-stream studies of HDH of chlorobenzene show high stability for the sonochemically prepared catalysts, with half-lives as long as 600 h. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Hydrodehalogenation; CFC; Catalysts; PCB; Molybdenum; Tungsten; Carbide 1. Introduction vention of future pollution is a serious problem that requires new solutions. The environmental impact of halogenated organ- There are several approaches to the remediation of ics has led to the strict regulation of halocarbons. halocarbons: activated carbon adsorption, thermal in- Widespread use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) has cineration, catalytic oxidation, and hydrodehalogena- contributed to both global warming and deple- tion (HDH) [6]. While treatment with activated car- tion of the ozone layer [1]. Meanwhile, the use of bon can aid in the recovery and recycling of halo- polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and their bromi- genated solvents, it is not a viable method for destruc- ◦ nated analogues (PBBs) has resulted in their global tion of halocarbons. Thermal incineration (≥900 C) bioaccumulation and environmental contamination is successful at destroying halogenated organics, how- [2–5]. Additional environmental and health haz- ever, the presence of oxygen during the process can ards stem from the use of various other halogenated lead to the formation of even more toxic secondary organics including chlorophenols, chlorobenzenes, pollutants such as polyhalogenated dioxins and fu- and 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorobiphenyl)ethane rans [7–11]. Emissions from incineration plants are a (DDT). The remediation of contaminated sites, dis- major contributor to the 3000 kg of polyhalogenated posal of existing halogenated organics, and the pre- dioxins and furans produced every year [12]. Catalytic oxidation allows for the use of lower temperatures (<600 ◦C), but current catalysts have relatively low ∗ Corresponding author. activity [6,13]. 0920-5861/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2003.11.010 140 J.D. Oxley et al. / Catalysis Today 88 (2004) 139–151 Catalytic HDH of halogenated organics produces and implosive collapse of bubbles in a liquid irradi- non-halogenated organic compounds at lower temper- ated with high intensity ultrasound [25,32]. The col- atures (<300 ◦C) and is the most promising of the lapse of such bubbles creates hot spots with temper- remediation techniques available. Current technology atures as high as 5000 K, pressures of hundreds of for HDH, however, is severely limiting. Previous HDH atmosphere, and cooling rates in excess of 1010 K/s studies have focused on the noble metals Pd, Pt, and [30,33]. These conditions provide an unusual method Rh; unfortunately, these are also excellent hydrogena- for the decomposition of organometallics and the con- tion catalysts, so their selectivity for HDH is poor. sequential sonochemical formation of nanostructured For example, the HDH of chlorobenzene over Pd- materials [26,31,32]. For our purposes, Mo(CO)6 and or Pt-based catalysts leads to substantial production W(CO)6 were used for the formation of Mo2C and of chlorocyclohexane and cyclohexane [14]. Further- W2C, respectively. more, it has been reported that these catalysts are prone to deactivation by attack from the HCl produced dur- ing the course of HDH and by coke formation [15–19]. 2. Experimental The use of Ni has proven to be more selective and sta- ble than Pd and Pt, but its activity is lower [20–22]. 2.1. Materials and equipment Conventionally prepared Mo- and W-based catalysts have exhibited similar activity and stability for the Unless otherwise noted, all synthesis, preparation, HDH of CFCs, but are difficult to prepare with high and handling of the materials were carried out in surface area and have not been examined with other an Ar atmosphere box (vacuum atmospheres) with halogenated organics [23,24]. <0.5 ppm O2. Pentane was dried and distilled over The development of sonochemistry as an impor- Na/benzophenone and degassed prior to use. Hex- tant new technique for the synthesis of nanostruc- adecane (Aldrich, 99%) and decane (Aldrich, 99%) tured inorganic materials has only recently been es- were dried and distilled over Na and degassed. All tablished [25–28]. Sonochemistry occurs in liquids halogenated hydrocarbons (>99%), except the CFCs subjected to intense ultrasonic irradiation and derives and PCBs, were purchased from Aldrich and used from localized hotspots formed by the implosive col- as received. Dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12) was lapse of micron-sized bubbles during acoustic cavita- obtained from Mattex Service Company (Champaign, tion [29,30]. Our group has previously developed the IL) and chlorodifluoromethane (CFC-22) was pur- sonochemical synthesis of high surface area, nanos- chased from S.J. Smith. Methane (99.99%), hydrogen tructured molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) and examined (99.99%), and helium (99.9%) were purchased from its catalytic dehydrogenation activity [31]. S.J. Smith and further purified by passing through As part of ongoing studies in this laboratory Oxytraps (Agilent) prior to use. The polyhalogenated of heterogeneous catalysis by sonochemically pre- biphenyls and diphenylethers were obtained from pared catalysts, the activity, selectivity, and stabil- the Marvel Storeroom (University of Illinois at ity of sonochemically prepared Mo2C and W2C Urbana-Champaign) and used as received. Mo(CO)6 were examined for the HDH of halogenated organ- (98%) and W(CO)6 (99%) were purchased from Strem ics. Monohalobenzenes were tested as substrates and used without further purification. LiOH (Labora- due to their close resemblance to moieties found tory Grade, Fisher) and alumina (neutral 150 mesh, in common pesticides, herbicides, disinfectants, and Aldrich) were heat treated at 200 ◦C under vacuum for flame-retardants. Dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12) 24 h to remove adsorbed water. All sonications were was used as a HDH model substrate for CFCs, and done at 20 kHz using a Sonics & Materials VCX600 4,4-dichlorobiphenyl was used as a model substrate with a 1 cm2 titanium horn at an acoustic intensity of for PCBs. In this paper we report on the HDH rates ∼60Wcm−2 in a glass vessel under Ar atmosphere. of several halogenated hydrocarbons over sonochem- Reactions with the CFCs and chloroalkanes were ically prepared Mo2C and W2C catalysts. analyzed with a 5730A Hewlett-Packard gas chro- Sonochemical preparation of nanophase materials matograph (GC) fitted with a flame ionization detector arises from acoustic cavitation: the formation, growth, and a quadrupole mass spectrometer (Spectra Instru- J.D. Oxley et al. / Catalysis Today 88 (2004) 139–151 141 ments). Separations were carried out with a 10% Car- Aliquot size was approximately 0.25 ml. The samples bowax 20M on Chromosorb W-HP packed column or were then centrifuged to remove any particulates, di- an n-octane Porasil C packed column. All other re- luted 1:10 with pentane, and analyzed with GC–MS. actions were analyzed with a Hewlett-Packard 6890 GC system equipped with an HP-5973 Mass Selective 2.5. Characterization Detector and a DB-35MS column (HP-GCMS). X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) patterns were 2.2. Preparation of catalysts recorded on a Rigaku D-max diffractometer using Cu K␣ radiation. X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) Nanostructured Mo C was prepared as previously 2 were collected on a Phi-540 spectrometer using Mg described [31]. A slurry of 2.0 g Mo(CO)6 in 35 ml ◦ K␣ radiation and were referenced to the carbidic C hexadecane was sonicated for 3 h at 80 C under argon. (282.7 eV) peak. Scanning and transmission elec- The resulting black powder was filtered and washed tron micrographs (SEM and TEM, respectively) were several times with pentane. The washed powder was ◦ taken on Hitachi S800 and Philips CM-12 electron then heated to 100 C for 12 h under vacuum to re- microscopes operated at 20 and 120 kV, respectively. move unreacted Mo(CO)6. Oxygen contamination was ◦ Surface areas of the sonochemically prepared cat- removed by heating the amorphous product at 500 C alysts were determined by Brunauer–Emmet–Teller for 12 h under a 1:1 flow of CH :H at 30 cm3/min. 4 2 (BET) N adsorption isotherms at 77 K. Elemental analysis of the treated powder gives a Mo/C 2 ratio of 1.97. The W2C was prepared in a similar man- ner with W(CO)6 as the starting material. Elemental analysis of the treated powder gives a W/C ratio of 3. Results and discussion 2.13. 3.1. Catalyst characterization 2.3. Gas/vapor phase HDH The XRD pattern of the sonochemically prepared Gas/vapor catalytic studies were performed at at- Mo2C is characteristic of poorly crystalline Mo2C. It mospheric pressure with 100 mg of catalyst in a exhibits broad peaks centered at d-spacings of 2.39, single-pass quartz microreactor. Vapors of liquid sub- 1.48, and 1.28 Å which correspond to the [1 1 1], strates were carried from a thermally equilibrated [2 2 0], and [3 1 1] reflections of the face centered saturator by a flow of purified H2 and He.