skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: The structure sensitivity of n-heptane dehydrocyclization and hydrogenolysis catalyzed by platinum single crystals at atmospheric pressure

Journal Article · · Journal of Catalysis
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials and Molecular Research Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry. Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Shell Development Company, Houston, TX (United States)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials and Molecular Research Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry. Dept. of Chemical Engineering; General Motors Research Lab., Warren, MI (United States). Physical Chemistry Dept.
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials and Molecular Research Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry. Dept. of Chemical Engineering

In this paper, the dehydrocyclization and hydrogenolysis of n-heptane catalyzed by platinum single-crystal surfaces have been investigated at temperatures from 533 to 603 K in the range of 1 atm total pressure. The flat (111), stepped (557), and kinked (10, 8, 7) and (25, 10, 7) surfaces used in this study were characterized under ultrahigh vacuum by low-energy electron diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy before and after reaction experiments. The initial rate of dehydrocyclization to toluene on the four surfaces increased in the order (111) ≈ (25, 10, 7) < (557) ≈ (10, 8, 7). Hydrogenolysis, however, increased in the order (557) < (10, 8, 7) < (111) < (25, 10, 7). As a result, the selectivity of toluene production versus hydrogenolysis increased by an order of magnitude in the order (25, 10, 7) < (111) < (10, 8, 7) < (557). The sum of the rates of hydrogenolysis and toluene production remains relatively constant. The effect of preoxidation of the single-crystal catalysts was to increase the rate of hydrogenolysis and decrease the rate of dehydrocyclization. In general, the reaction rates decreased with increasing reaction time. Finally, this decrease was shown to be the result of the deposition of irreversibly adsorbed carbonaceous species.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
1090438
Report Number(s):
LBL-11704
Journal Information:
Journal of Catalysis, Vol. 70, Issue 1; ISSN 0021-9517
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English