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Gounder, Rajamani

Publications and source records attributed to Gounder, Rajamani.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Thermodynamics and kinetics of interconversion between platinum nanoparticles and cations in zeolites

In metal-containing zeolites, sintering and redispersion processes exercise control over the identity of metal site structures, but the thermodynamic and kinetic factors that influence these molecular-level processes are not completely understood. Furthermore, we assess the ability of first principles informed free energy models (for supported and unsupported nanoparticles) and kinetic models integrating Ostwald ripening with atom trapping to describe the interconversion between Pt cations and nanoparticles encapsulated in chabazite (CHA) zeolites. Density functional theory-derived thermodynamic phase diagrams show that the interconversion between cations, favored in oxidizing environments, and particles, favored in reducing environments, is fully reversible within a wide range of their respective conditions (temperatures and pressures) for CHA and several other zeolite topologies. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of Pt redispersion are consistent with experimentally observed redispersion kinetics of encapsulated Pt nanoparticles in CHA zeolites, and model results suggest the zeolite host imparts additional stability for Pt nanoparticles. We envision our thermodynamic and kinetic models for Pt-CHA are also capable of describing nanoparticle and cation interconversions for other zeolite frameworks under similar conditions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mechanistic Studies of Continuous Partial Methane Oxidation on Cu−Zeolites Using Kinetic and Spectroscopic Methods

Abstract Over the past few decades, a significant amount of research effort has focused on investigating the active site requirements and reaction mechanisms for partial methane oxidation (PMO) to methanol over copper–exchanged zeolites during stoichiometric and stepwise chemical looping routes. More recently, research efforts have expanded to include investigating the PMO reaction in a continuous catalytic regime, primarily focusing on determining the influence of catalyst composition on Cu speciation and structure and, in turn, on PMO rate and selectivity. The structures of candidate Cu active sites are commonly studied using a combination of ex situ and in situ spectroscopic approaches. In this perspective, we critically examine the prior literature on catalytic PMO over Cu–zeolites to identify key knowledge gaps that remain in our understanding as motivation for future research efforts. We identify opportunities for future research to address these gaps by adapting analogous interrogation techniques that have been successfully used to elucidate the active site requirements and mechanistic details of another catalytic redox reaction cycle on Cu–zeolites, the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxides (NO x ).

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Structure and Reactivity of Binuclear Cu Active Sites in Cu-CHA Zeolites for Stoichiometric Partial Methane Oxidation to Methanol

Aluminosilicate zeolites exchanged with copper ions facilitate partial methane oxidation (PMO) to methanol in stoichiometric oxidation and reduction cycles, yet the identities of active Cu sites and details of the reaction mechanism remain debated. Here, we use the high-symmetry chabazite (CHA) zeolite framework as a model support to probe the relationship between bulk composition, Cu speciation, and response to various oxidizing and reducing treatments. Density functional theory and first-principles thermodynamics combined with statistical models reveal that Cu speciation and composition depend strongly on Al configuration and external gas conditions. Cu-CHA samples were synthesized to survey broad regions of Si/Al and Cu/Al composition space and framework Al proximity. Characterization by in situ X-ray absorption and UV–visible spectroscopy during exposure to different oxidation conditions reveal that the extent of Cu oxidation is sensitive to activation conditions and thus that both kinetic and thermodynamic factors influence Cu oxidizability in a given material. Similar characterizations during CO reduction reveal that CO titrates Cu 2+ in amounts suggesting the presence of both O- and O 2 -bridged species. In contrast, CH 4 and autoreduction (He) treatments reduce similar but smaller numbers of Cu sites than CO, implicating O 2 -bridged Cu dimers as a potential common intermediate in the former reduction pathways. Furthermore, a systematic increase in methanol yields (per Cu) in stoichiometric PMO cycles increase with the fraction of binuclear O x -bridged Cu sites suggests these species as active sites, as depicted in an updated PMO reaction mechanism.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Workshop on Addressing Rigor and Reproducibility in Thermal, Heterogeneous Catalysis

Heterogeneous catalysis has long served as the bedrock of the manufacturing of energy carriers, fuels and chemicals, and various technologies for pollution abatement. The significant complexity and variability spanning the entire breadth of catalyst material properties, synthesis methods, characterization techniques, and evaluation procedures, has focused attention on the need to establish community-accepted best practices for ensuring high-quality, benchmarked, and reproducible data. In addition, increased societal urgency to transition to clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas concentrations has incentivized interdisciplinary, convergent, and translational approaches to catalysis research in recent years. Research engineers and scientists with expertise cutting broadly across materials science, chemical synthesis, interfacial science, spectroscopy, and methods of data science and computational simulation, all bring diverse and important perspectives to catalysis research, but often with little awareness of the complexity of catalytic systems, especially in their working environment. As has already occurred in other scientific fields, there has been growing recognition and consensus in the heterogeneous catalysis research community that mechanisms are needed to improve the rigor and reproducibility (R&R) of experimental measurements, to ensure alignment of the broader research community with a common core of best practices specific to the realization of high-quality catalysis research. Similarly, the field is moving rapidly toward computationally informed and data science-driven catalyst design, but the success of implementing such predictive tools hinges on model training and validation rooted in rigorously obtained and reproducible experimental data that are benchmarked to common specifications. As such, this workshop was convened to prepare a report summarizing best practices for reporting data and performing experiments that researchers can use to benchmark, validate, and reproduce data in specific sub-fields of thermal, heterogeneous catalysis. Additionally, we discussed recommendations for future actions that may improve R&R in this field. The workshop organizers and participants include a diverse range of catalysis researchers from various employment sectors (e.g., academia, industry, national laboratory), institutional mission and resources (e.g., PhD-granting research universities, non-PhD-granting teaching universities), career stage (e.g., early, mid and late-career), technical expertise, and demographic background. This diverse group was involved in the discussion of workshop agenda items, writing this report, and discussing possible future action items for the community to consider, which helped ensure that a broad range of perspectives were captured in the description of the problems at hand and the creation of actionable solutions that may be effectively adopted by the diverse practitioners in catalysis research. Importantly, this group of workshop participants also included very early career researchers (e.g., senior PhD students, postdoctoral scholars) who will become the next generation of scientific leaders in various sectors, thus capturing emerging perspectives of newcomers to the field to shape its future while positively impacting the development of its future workforce. We envision that this effort will help advance the field of catalysis science by improving the rigor and reproducibility of experimental data collected by current researchers and future newcomers to the field, which is of broad importance to health and vitality of any scientific discipline. Therefore, best practices identified in this endeavor for thermal heterogeneous catalysis can be translated to such efforts in other areas of catalysis and other scientific fields involving the study of materials, and vice versa. We also envision this to be an ongoing effort, with future workshops that are convened to discuss issues of rigor and reproducibility on technical topics that were unable to be covered in this workshop due to its scope limitations, and as emerging methods and materials become more prevalent in the research community.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effect of framework Al pairing on NO storage properties of Pd-CHA passive NOx adsorbers

For this study, three Pd/H-CHA samples were prepared containing 53.0%, 10.8% and 6.5% paired Al sites at near fixed Si/Al ratio and similar Pd loading. According to H 2 temperature-programmed reduction, Pd was present almost exclusively as isolated cations in the two samples containing the higher concentrations of paired Al sites, whereas in the other sample PdO was also present. Simulated lean cold start tests on the fresh samples conducted in a microflow reactor showed that the sample containing PdO stored the lowest amount of NOx. When tested with CO/H 2 , the sample containing 53.0% paired Al sites showed significantly better storage capacity than the other samples and deactivated less rapidly upon sequential tests. Experiments using lean gasoline engine exhaust revealed similar trends. This study showed that a high concentration of paired Al sites in Pd/H-CHA is beneficial for NOx storage capacity, thermal durability, and minimizing deactivation in the presence of CO/H 2 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Investigation of the modes of NO adsorption in Pd/H-CHA

This study investigates NO adsorption on Pd-exchanged chabazite (Pd/H-CHA), a promising passive NO x adsorber (PNA) for capturing cold-start NO x emissions of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. Here, temperature-programed desorption (TPD) and IR spectroscopy are combined with theoretical calculations to elucidate how and where NO is stored, and how water and O 2 affect this process. NO adsorption on Pd/H-CHA produces two TPD features, around 423 and 753 K, and IR bands centered at 1860 and 1810 cm –1 . Calculated NO stretching frequencies and maximum-desorption temperatures reveal that Pd 2+ and Pd + sites are responsible for these low- and high-temperature features, respectively, and that while the IR feature at 1810 cm –1 is due to NO adsorption on Pd + , the 1860 cm –1 feature contains contributions from both weakly-bound NO on Pd 2+ and more strongly bound NO on Pd + , consistent with experimentally observed effects of water and O 2 .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Mechanistic studies of NH 3 -assisted reduction of mononuclear Cu(ii) cation sites in Cu-CHA zeolites

Cu-Exchanged zeolites catalyze various redox reactions including the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO x with NH 3 and the partial oxidation of hydrocarbons. The reduction of Cu(II) cations to Cu(I) by NH 3 alone has been observed experimentally, yet fundamental details regarding the Cu active site requirements, reaction stoichiometry, and reaction mechanism remain incompletely understood. Here, we synthesized model Cu-exchanged chabazite (Cu-CHA) zeolites with varying Cu ion densities and distributions of mononuclear Cu(II) ion site types (Cu 2+ , (CuOH) + ) and studied NH 3 -assisted Cu(II) reduction reactions using a combination of spectroscopic, titrimetric, and gas-phase product analysis methods. In situ UV-visible and X-ray absorption spectroscopies were used to monitor and quantify the transient reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) during exposure to NH 3 (473 K), in concert with titration methods that use NO and NH 3 co-reductants to fully reduce to the Cu(I) state any residual Cu(II) ions that remained after treatments in NH 3 alone for a given time period. The techniques provide quantitative evidence that both mononuclear Cu(II) site types are able to reduce in NH 3 alone, and do so to similar extents as a function of time. NH 3 temperature programmed reduction (TPR) revealed that the reaction stoichiometry of NH 3 -assisted reduction forms approximately one equivalent of N 2 per 6 Cu sites, regardless of Cu speciation or density, consistent with a six-electron reduction process whereby two NH 3 molecules react with six Cu(II) species to produce one N 2 molecule and six Cu(I) species. Furthermore, these findings provide new insights into the reaction pathways and mechanisms by which NH 3 alone reduces mononuclear Cu(II) sites in zeolites, which are undesired side-reactions that occur during steady-state NO x SCR and can unintentionally influence SCR-relevant spectroscopic or titrimetric characterization experiments.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dioxygen Activation Kinetics over Distinct Cu Site Types in Cu-Chabazite Zeolites

Cu-exchanged zeolites activate dioxygen to form active sites for partial methane oxidation (PMO), nitrogen oxide decomposition, and carbon monoxide oxidation. Apparent rates of O 2 activation depend both on the intrinsic kinetics of distinct Cu site types and the distributions of such sites within a given zeolite, which depend on the density and arrangement of the framework Al atoms. In this work, we use hydrothermal synthesis methods to control the arrangement of framework Al sites in chabazite (CHA) zeolites and, in turn, the distinct Cu site types formed. Time-resolved in situ Raman spectroscopy reveals the kinetics of O 2 adsorption and activation within these well-defined Cu-CHA materials and the concomitant structural evolution of copper–oxygen (Cu x O y ) complexes, which are interpreted alongside Cu(I) oxidation kinetics extracted from in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Raman spectra of several plausible Cu x O y species simulated using density functional theory suggest that experimental spectra (λ ex = 532 nm) capture the formation of mono(μ-oxo)dicopper species (ZCuOCuZ). Transient experiments show that the timescales required to form Cu x O y structures that no longer change in Raman spectra correspond to the durations of oxidative treatments that maximize CH 3 OH yields in stoichiometric PMO cycles (approximately 2 h). Yet, these periods extend well beyond the timescales for the complete conversion of the initial Cu(I) intermediates to their Cu(II) states (<0.3 h, reflected in X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy spectra), which demonstrates that Cu x O y complexes continue to evolve structurally following rapid Cu(I) oxidation. The dependence of ZCuOCuZ formation rates on O 2 pressure, H 2 O pressure, and temperature is consistent with a mechanism in which ZCuOH reduces to form ZCu + sites that bind molecular oxygen and form ZCu-O 2 intermediates. Subsequent reaction with proximate ZCu + forms bridging peroxo dicopper complexes that cleave O–O bonds to form ZCuOCuZ in steps facilitated by water. These data and interpretations provide evidence for the chemical processes that link rapid and kinetically irrelevant Cu oxidation steps (frequently probed by XAS and UV–vis spectroscopy) to the relatively slow genesis of reactive Cu complexes that form CH 3 OH during PMO. In doing so, we reveal previously unrecognized complexities in the processes by which Cu ions in zeolites activate O 2 to form active Cu x O y complexes, which underscore the insight afforded by judicious combinations of experimental and theoretical techniques.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Olefin oligomerization by main group Ga 3+ and Zn 2+ single site catalysts on SiO 2

In heterogeneous catalysis, olefin oligomerization is typically performed on immobilized transition metal ions, such as Ni 2+ and Cr 3+ . Here we report that silica-supported, single site catalysts containing immobilized, main group Zn 2+ and Ga 3+ ion sites catalyze ethylene and propylene oligomerization to an equilibrium distribution of linear olefins with rates similar to that of Ni 2+ . The molecular weight distribution of products formed on Zn 2+ is similar to Ni 2+ , while Ga 3+ forms higher molecular weight olefins. In situ spectroscopic and computational studies suggest that oligomerization unexpectedly occurs by the Cossee-Arlman mechanism via metal hydride and metal alkyl intermediates formed during olefin insertion and β-hydride elimination elementary steps. Initiation of the catalytic cycle is proposed to occur by heterolytic C-H dissociation of ethylene, which occurs at about 250 °C where oligomerization is catalytically relevant. This work illuminates new chemistry for main group metal catalysts with potential for development of new oligomerization processes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dynamic Interconversion of Metal Active Site Ensembles in Zeolite Catalysis

Catalysis science is founded on understanding the structure, number, and reactivity of active sites. Kinetic models that consider active sites to be static and noninteracting entities are routinely successful in describing the behavior of heterogeneous catalysts. Yet, active site ensembles often restructure in response to their external environment and even during steady-state catalytic turnover, sometimes requiring non-mean-field kinetic treatments to describe distance-dependent interactions among sites. Such behavior is being recognized more frequently in modern catalysis research, with the advent of experimental methods to quantify turnover rates with increasing precision, an expanding arsenal of operando characterization tools, and computational descriptions of atomic structure and motion at chemical potentials and timescales increasingly relevant to reaction conditions. This review focuses on dynamic changes to metal active site ensembles on zeolite supports, which are silica-based crystalline materials substituted with Al that generate binding sites for isolated and low-nuclearity metal site ensembles. Metal sites can become solvated and mobilized during reaction, facilitating interactions among sites that change their nuclearity and function. Such intersite communication can be regulated by the zeolite support, resulting in non-single-site and potentially non-mean-field kinetic behavior arising from mechanisms of catalytic action that combine elements of those canonically associated with homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. Here, we discuss recent literature examples that document dynamic active site behavior in metal-zeolites and outline methodologies to identify and interpret such behavior. We conclude with our outlook on future research directions to develop this evolving branch of catalysis science and harness it for practical applications.

operando characterization↗
DOE OSTI2021

Structural Interconversion between Agglomerated Palladium Domains and Mononuclear Pd(II) Cations in Chabazite Zeolites

Palladium-exchanged zeolites are candidate materials for passive NO x adsorption in automotive exhaust aftertreatment, where mononuclear Pd cations behave as precursors to the purported NO x adsorption sites. Yet, the structures of zeolite lattice binding sites capable of stabilizing mononuclear Pd 2+ ions, and the mechanisms that interconvert agglomerated PdO and Pd domains into mononuclear Pd 2+ ions during Pd redispersion treatments, remain incompletely understood. In this work, we use a suite of spectroscopic methods and quantitative site titration techniques to characterize mononuclear and agglomerated Pd species on zeolites with varying material properties and treatment history. Aqueous-phase methods to introduce Pd onto NH 4 -form zeolites initially form mononuclear [Pd(NH 3 ) 4 ] 2+ complexes, but subsequent thermal treatments (573–723 K; air) lead to in situ formation of H 2 that first reduces Pd 2+ to metallic Pd domains, which are then oxidized by air to PdO domains. Progressive treatment of Pd-zeolites in air to higher temperatures (723–1023 K) converts larger fractions of agglomerated PdO to mononuclear Pd 2+ , as quantified by H 2 temperature programmed reduction, because higher temperature treatments facilitate Pd redispersion toward deeper locations within chabazite (CHA) crystallites, which is corroborated by complementary titrimetric and spectroscopic data. Pd-CHA zeolites synthesized with similar bulk Pd and framework Al content, but varying framework Al arrangement, provide evidence that six-membered rings (6-MR) hosting paired Al sites (Al–O–(Si–O) x –Al, x = 1, 2) stabilize Pd 2+ ions and that otherwise isolated Al sites can stabilize [PdOH] + species, identifiable by an IR OH stretch at 3660 cm –1 . These findings clarify the underlying chemical processes and gas environments that cause Pd agglomeration in zeolites and their subsequent redispersion to mononuclear Pd 2+ ions, which prefer binding at 6-MR paired Al sites in CHA, and indicate that higher temperature air treatments lead to more uniform Pd spatial distributions throughout zeolite crystallites.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Tighter Confinement Increases Selectivity of d-Glucose Isomerization Toward l-Sorbose in Titanium Zeolites

Aqueous-phase isomerization of D-glucose to D-fructose and L-sorbose is catalyzed in parallel by Lewis acidic Ti sites in siliceous frameworks. Glucose isomerization rates (per Ti, 373 K) are undetectable when Ti sites are confined within mesoporous voids (Ti-MCM-41, TiO 2 -SiO 2 ) and increase to detectable values when Ti sites are confined within the smaller 12-membered ring (12-MR) micropores of Ti-Beta. Furthermore, isomerization rates decrease to lower values (by ≈20×) with further decreases in micropore size as Ti sites are confined within 10-MR pores (Ti-MFI, Ti-CON), likely because of intrapore reactant diffusion restrictions, and reach undetectable values within the 8-MR pores of Ti-CHA as size exclusion prevents glucose from accessing active sites. Remarkably, the selectivity toward l -sorbose over d -fructose increases systematically as spatial constraints around Ti sites become tighter, and is >10 on Ti-MFI. These findings demonstrate the marked influence of confinement around Ti active sites on the selectivity between parallel stereoselective sugar isomerization pathways.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗