Abstract
Selective propylene epoxidation over K-promoted Ag/CaCO3 features promotion by surface-bound chlorine adatoms (Cl*) deposited by trace alkyl chlorides co-fed continuously in a fashion similar to ethylene epoxidation over promoted Ag/α-Al2O3 catalysts. Steady-state propylene epoxidation over K-Ag/CaCO3 in the presence of gaseous promoters (NO, CO2, and C2H5Cl) at varied contact times in flow reactors as well as transient, low-conversion batch epoxidation reveal allyl chloride, formed via propylene oxychlorination, to be a highly unstable intermediate. In situ allyl chloride formation and decomposition are in turn observed to control Cl* coverages and induce substantial bed-scale Cl* gradients during propylene epoxidation by (i) reducing Cl* coverage upstream in the catalyst bed via propylene oxychlorination and (ii) increasing downstream Cl* coverages by allyl chloride decomposition. This is supported by postreaction batch titrations of K-Ag/CaCO3 beds after steady state propylene epoxidation at varying contact times which reveals bed-average Cl* coverages increasing from ∼0.03 to ∼0.2 monolayers (moles Cl per surface Ag) with propylene conversion increasing from ∼0.05% to 2.3%. Control of Cl* coverages by in situ generated allyl chloride is highly consequential for selective epoxidation with epoxide selectivity (∼25 to 55%) and site-time yield (∼20 to 54 nmol gcat-1 s-1) increasing substantially with bed-averaged Cl* coverages as propylene conversion increases (∼0.05% to 2.3%). Results presented herein reveal a key difference in the mechanistic pathways dictating activity- and selectivity-salient Cl* coverages within propylene epoxidation compared with ethylene and 1,3-butadiene epoxidation directly related to the unique propensity of propylene to remove Cl* from Ag surfaces during epoxidation to generate allyl chloride.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 7578-7586 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | ACS Catalysis |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023 American Chemical Society.
Keywords
- allyl chloride
- chlorine
- promoters
- propylene epoxidation
- silver