Propylene oxide (PO) is a excessive value-added chemical intermediate. Compared to standard routes to supply PO, direct epoxidation of propylene with H₂ and O₂ is a inexperienced, environment friendly, and sustainable strategy. Nonetheless, the presently used Au catalyst on this strategy is high-cost and with restricted reserves. Due to this fact, it’s pressing to develop highly-active non-noble catalysts for propylene epoxidation.

A analysis staff led by Prof. Chen Xinqing from the Shanghai Superior Analysis Institute (SARI) of the Chinese language Academy of Sciences has proposed non-noble nickel catalysts supported on titanium silicate-1 (TS-1) zeolite, which reveals glorious catalytic efficiency within the gas-phase epoxidation of propylene.

The analysis outcomes have been revealed in ACS Catalysis on July 27.

The researchers synthesized a collection of non-noble Ni/TS-1 catalysts by the deposition precipitation methodology. They discovered that the sturdy metal-support interplay between Ni nanoparticles and TS-1 was the rationale for his or her good catalytic efficiency within the gas-phase epoxidation of propylene.

The ready 2% Ni/TS-1 catalyst reached a excessive PO selectivity of 76.8% and PO manufacturing price of 151.9 g PO/(h·Kgcat). Its long-term stability at 200 °C exceeded 20 hours.

Furthermore, the researchers investigated varied characterizations of the catalyst to grasp the response mechanism with the assistance of in-situ applied sciences. The outcomes confirmed that metallic Ni promoted the response between hydrogen and oxygen for the in-situ synthesis of H₂O₂ after which oxidized propylene to PO. Theoretical calculations revealed that the passivation layer on the Ni floor enabled the manufacturing of H₂O₂.