Acid site densities and reactivity of oxygen-modified transition metal carbide catalysts

• Brønsted acid sites are generated on W- and Mo-carbides by O2-induced surface oxidation.
• Bulk carbide structure is unaltered by surface oxidation.
• Rate per proton on W- and Mo-carbides with and without O2 treatment is nearly invariant.

Acidic properties of β-Mo2C, α-Mo2C, W2C, and WC were quantified by assessing the kinetics of isopropanol (IPA) dehydration at 415 K either (i) under inert He/Ar atmosphere or (ii) with 13 kPa O2 co-feed. Dehydration kinetics were zero-order with respect to IPA for all catalysts and under all reaction conditions. Intrinsic activation energies were similar across all catalysts (89–104 kJ mol−1). Acid site densities calculated via in situ 2,6-di-tert-butylpyridine (DTBP) titration were used to normalize dehydration turnover frequencies (TOF). O2 co-feed increased dehydration rates per gram by an order of magnitude for all catalysts tested, but TOF remained invariant within a factor of ∼2. Mo- and W-based carbides showed similar dehydration kinetics regardless of O2 co-feed, and O2 co-feed did not alter bulk carbidic structure as noted by X-ray diffraction. Brønsted acid site provenance results from the oxophilicity of Mo and W carbides.

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