A high-yield perovskite catalyst for the oxidation of sulfides

Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a ruthenium-based perovskite catalyst[1] that shows strong activity even at low temperatures (down to 313 K). The reusable catalyst does not require additives, meaning that it can prevent the formation of toxic by-products.

The oxidation of sulfides is a commercially important process with broad applications ranging from chemicals production to environmental management.

A research group led by Keigo Kamata and Michikazu Hara of Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) has succeeded in developing a barium ruthenate (BaRuO3) perovskite - the first catalyst of its kind shown to be capable of the selective oxidation of sulfides under mild conditions, with molecular oxygen (O2) as the only oxidant and without the need for additives.

Reporting their findings in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, the researchers state that BaRuO3 has three advantages over conventional catalysts.

Firstly, it exhibits high performance even at 313 K, a temperature much lower than the 373-423 K range reported in previous systems including other ruthenium- and manganese-based catalysts.

Secondly, its high rate of oxygen transfer indicates that it has many potential uses; for example, it is applicable to the oxidative desulfurization[2] of dibenzothiophene, which can produce a 99% yield of pure sulfone. Thirdly, the new catalyst is recyclable - the present study showed that BaRuO3 could be reused at least three times without loss of performance.

The achievement overcomes several classic limitations, such as the need for additives, toxic reagents and high reaction temperatures to achieve good catalytic performance.

The catalyst has a rhombohedral structure (see Figure 1). While other ruthenium-based catalysts investigated to date such as SrRuO3, CaRuO3 and RuO2 can all be described as having corner-sharing octahedral units, BaRuO3 has face-sharing octahedra. This configuration is thought to be one of the main reasons behind the catalyst's higher oxygen transfer capability.

The way in which BaRuO3 was synthesized - based on the sol-gel method[3] using malic acid - was also important. The researchers say: "The catalytic activity and specific surface area of BaRuO3 synthesized by the malic acid-aided method were higher than those of BaRuO3 synthesized by the polymerized complex method."

The study highlights the importance of subtle changes in the nanoscale structure of perovskite catalysts, and could provide promising leads for further research on a wide range of perovskite-based functional materials.

Research paper

Related Links
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Space Technology News - Applications and Research

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

Chinese scientists achieve success in nitrogen metallization
Beijing, China (SPX) Jul 17, 2018
A Chinese research team announced it has successfully metallized nitrogen at extreme conditions. This exciting result was published in Nature Communications on July 6. The team, working at the Institute of Solid State Physics at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (CASHIPS), developed its own pulsed-laser heating system and ultra-fast optical detection technology to conduct the experiment. Nitrogen represents about 78 percent of air by volume. Normally, it maintains in a pretty stable m ... read more