Synthesis and Characterization Studies of V-Zr Mixed Oxides Cografted on γ-Al₂O₃ using OV(OPr)₃ and Zr(OⁿBu)₄ Precursors

Abstract

Steam reforming of hydrocarbons is widely used to produce clean hydrogen. A nickel-containing, V₂O_x-ZrO₂ cografted catalyst on γ-Al₂O₃, prepared from a solution of OV(O ⁱ Pr)₃ and Zr(O ⁿ Bu)₄ was observed to provide significant turnover rates in hydrogen generation from steam-reforming of alkanes. To investigate the effect of change in vanadium precursor ligand and other reaction parameters on the surface optimization, a compositional range of V₂O_x-ZrO₂ samples were synthesized from OV(OPr)₃ and Zr(O ⁿ Bu)₄ and characterized using, ICP-OES, XRD, and XPS. These studies indicated that the cografting process was amorphous and V⁵⁺ and Zr⁴⁺ were the only oxidation states present on the catalyst surface.

Keywords:

• cografting
• heterogeneous catalysis
• steam reforming
• supported metal oxide
• γ-alumina

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Department of Chemistry, University of Iowa. The assistance of Dr. Dale Swenson, Dr. Sarah Larsen, and the staff at the Central Microscopic Facility at University of Iowa for equipment use is much appreciated.