Submitted by isabela.moljf@hotmail.com (isabela.moljf@hotmail.com) on 2017-05-03T11:03:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 lucianohonoratochagas.pdf: 8622580 bytes, checksum: 20a6210f264ae2b6015f16d383e48fb8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-05-13T13:13:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 lucianohonoratochagas.pdf: 8622580 bytes, checksum: 20a6210f264ae2b6015f16d383e48fb8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-13T13:13:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 lucianohonoratochagas.pdf: 8622580 bytes, checksum: 20a6210f264ae2b6015f16d383e48fb8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-11-22 / O grande interesse na hidrodessulfurização (HDS) de gasolina é realizar remoção profunda de enxofre e, ao mesmo tempo, reduzir a perda do numero de octanos que ocorre no processo de HDS minimizando a hidrogenação (HID) de olefinas, as quais são benéficas para a octanagem. Além do componente ativo e do promotor, o suporte deve ser considerado uma parte integral do catalisador. Nesse sentido, diversos suportes (incluindo aluminas e óxidos mistos) foram preparados a partir da calcinação de diferentes precursores. Uma amostra de Boehmita comercial foi usada como precursora de polimorfos de alumina. Para comparação, três outros precursores foram sintetizados a partir de diferentes métodos. Particularmente, o uso de excesso de ureia promoveu uma forma muito cristalina de carbonato básico de alumínio. Cada precursor foi calcinado em várias temperaturas gerando polimorfos de alumina, os quais foram analisados estruturalmente por DRX e RMN de 27Al. Devido ao interesse em suportes para catalisador, atenção especial foi dada à fase γ-Al2O3, a qual em adição a investigação estrutural foi submetida à análise textural. Essas quatro amostras de γ-Al2O3 foram utilizadas como suportes para catalisadores do tipo CoMo, que foram testados em reações de HDS de tiofeno e HID de cicloexeno. Os testes catalíticos mostraram que as atividades catalíticas crescem com o aumento do diâmetro médio de poros das fases CoMo/γ-Al2O3, e estão diretamente relacionados à dispersão do molibdênio sobre o suporte. Os resultados mostraram que a partir de diferentes rotas de síntese, e usando uma rota comum de calcinação, podem-se obter materiais com a mesma composição, mas com diferentes propriedades estruturais e texturais. Além disso, catalisadores do tipo CoMo suportados, contendo 20 % de MoO3 e 3 % de CoO, foram preparados por impregnação ao ponto úmido com soluções aquosas de molibdênio e cobalto sobre óxidos mistos obtidos a partir de hidrotalcitas. Os precursores contendo variadas quantidades de Mg, Co e Al ou Ni, Co e Al foram sintetizados pelo método de hidrólise de ureia. A calcinação leva a óxidos mistos cujas características estruturais dependem da composição. A caracterização dos suportes foi feita pelas técnicas de BET, DRX, RMN, IV, UV-vis/DRS e TPR. As amostras sulfetadas foram usadas como catalisadores em reações simultâneas de HDS de tiofeno e HID de cicloexeno. Os resultados foram comparados com catalisadores convencionais CoMo/γ-Al2O3, indicando que as atividades catalíticas dependem dos métodos de preparação dos precursores e suportes. Na série Mg-Co-Al o catalisador com maior quantidade de magnésio mostrou as maiores atividades de HDS e HID, sugerindo que a basicidade está associada com a performance catalítica. Adicionalmente, a amostra sem magnésio e contendo alta quantidade de cobalto exibiu as menores atividades e a maior seletividade (HDS/HID = 3,86). Os resultados indicam que o excesso de cobalto diminui a atividade enquanto a presença de magnésio contribui para aumentá-la. Por outro lado, a série Ni-Co-Al exibiu as menores razões HDS/HID. Nesse caso, as altas atividades para hidrogenação são atribuídas às altas quantidades de níquel. Adicionalmente, uma comparação entre catalisadores contendo 10 % de MoO3 e 3 % de CoO, suportados em óxidos mistos derivados de HDL e um catalisador suportado em alumina, revela que o suporte mais ácido tem maior influência sobre a capacidade de hidrogenação do catalisador. Entretanto, apesar da composição e das características estruturais dos suportes, o método de preparação pode influenciar significativamente no desempenho de um catalisador suportado. / The great interest in hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of gasoline is to perform a deep sulfur removal and, at the same time, to reduce the loss of the octane number occurring in the HDS process, by minimizing the hydrogenation of olefins which are beneficial to this property. Besides the active component and the promoter, the support has to be considered an integral part of the catalyst. In this sense, several supports (enclosing aluminas and mixed oxides) were prepared from calcination of different precursors. A commercial sample of Boehmite was used as precursor of alumina polymorphs. For comparison, three other precursors were synthesized from different methods. Particularly, the use of excess of urea promoted a very crystalline form of basic aluminum carbonate. Each precursor of alumina was calcined at various temperatures generating alumina polymorphs, which were structurally analyzed by XRD and 27Al MAS NMR. Due to interest in catalysis supports, special attention was given to the γ-Al2O3 phase, which in addition to structural investigation was subjected to textural analysis. These four γ-Al2O3 samples were used as catalyst supports like CoMo, which were tested in reactions of HDS of thiophene and HID of cyclohexene. The catalytic tests show that catalytic activities increase with pore diameters of CoMo/γ-Al2O3 phases and are directly related to dispersion of molybdenum on the support. The results showed that, from different synthesis procedures and common route of calcination, one can obtain materials with the same composition but with different structural and textural properties. Furthermore, supported CoMo catalysts containing 20 % of MoO3 and 3 % of CoO were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation of molybdenum and cobalt aqueous solutions over mixed oxides obtained from hydrotalcite precursors. The precursors, containing varying amounts of Mg, Co and Al or Ni, Co and Al cátions, were synthesized by urea hydrolysis method. The calcination led to mixed oxides whose structural characteristics depend on the composition. Characterization of the supports by BET, XRD, NMR, FTIR, UV-vis/DRS and TPR techniques was carried out. The sulfided samples were used as catalysts in simultaneous hydrodesulfurization of thiophene and hydrogenation of cyclohexene. The results were compared with conventional CoMo/γ-Al2O3 catalysts, which indicate that the catalytic activities depend on the preparation method of the precursors and supports. In the Mg-Co-Al series, the high magnesium content catalyst show higher HDS and HYD activities, suggesting that the support basicity is associated with catalytic performance. Furthermore, the free magnesium and high cobalt content catalyst show lower activities and higher selectivity (HDS/HYD = 3.86). The results indicate that the excess of cobalt decreases the activities while the presence of magnesium contributes to improve them. Otherwise, the Ni-Co-Al series show the smaller HDS/HYD ratios. In this case, the higher hydrogenation activities are assigned to high nickel content. Additionally, a comparison between catalysts containing 10 % of MoO3 and 3 % of CoO, supported on mixed oxides derived of LDH and a catalyst supported on alumina reveals that the most acidic support (alumina) has great influence over hydrogenation capacity of the catalyst. However, besides the composition and structural characteristics of the supports, the preparation method can to influence significantly the performance of a supported catalyst.

Aluminas have had some form of chemical and industrial use throughout history. For little over a century corundum (α-Al2O3) has been the most widely used and known of the aluminas. The emerging metastable aluminas, including the γ, δ, η, θ, κ, β, and χ polymorphs, have been growing in importance. In particular, γ-Al2O3 has received wide attention, with established use as a catalyst and catalyst support, and growing application in wear abrasives, structural composites, and as part of burner systems in miniature power supplies. It is also growing in importance as part of the feedstock for aluminium production in order to affect both the adsorption of hydrogen fluoride and the feedstock solubility in the electrolytic solution. However, much ambiguity surrounds the precise structure of γ-Al2O3. Without proper knowledge of the structure, understanding the properties, dynamics and applications will always be less than optimal. The aim of this research was to contribute towards settling this ambiguity. This work was achieved through extensive computer simulations of the structure, based on interatomic potentials with refinements of promising structures using density functional theory (DFT), and a wide range of supporting experiments. In addition to providing a more realistic representation of the structure, this research has also served to advance knowledge of the evolution of the structure with changing temperature and make new insights regarding the location of hydrogen in γ-Al2O3. / Both the molecular modelling and Rietveld refinements of neutron diffraction data showed that the traditional cubic spinel-based structure models, based on m Fd3 space group symmetry, do not accurately describe the defect structure of γ-Al2O3. A more accurate description of the structure was provided using supercells of the cubic and tetragonal unit cells with a significant number of cations on c symmetry positions. These c symmetry based structures exhibited diffraction patterns that were characteristic of γ-Al2O3. The first three chapters of this Thesis provide a review of the literature. Chapter One provides a general introduction, describing the uses and importance of the aluminas and the problems associated with determining the structure of γ-Al2O3. Chapter Two details the research that has been conducted on the structure of vi γ-Al2O3 historically. Chapter Three describes the major principles behind the computational methods employed in this research. In Chapter Four, the specific experimental and computational techniques used to investigate the structure of γ-Al2O3 are described. All preparation conditions and parameters used are provided. Chapter Five describes the methodology employed in computational and experimental research. The examination of the ~ 1.47 billion spinel-based structural possibilities of γ-Al2O3, described using supercells, and the selection of ~ 122,000 candidates for computer simulation, is detailed. This chapter also contains a case study of the structure of κ-Al2O3, used to investigate the applicability of applying interatomic potentials to solving complex structures, where many possibilities are involved, and to develop a systematic procedure of computational investigation that could be applied to γ-Al2O3. Chapters Six to Nine present and discuss the results from the experimental studies. / Preliminary heating trials, performed to determine the appropriate preparation conditions for obtaining a highly crystalline boehmite precursor and an appropriate calcination procedure for the systematic study of γ-Al2O3, were presented in Chapter Six. Chapter Seven details the investigation of the structure from a singletemperature case. Several known structural models were investigated, including the possibility of a dual-phase model and the inclusion of hydrogen in the structure. It was demonstrated that an accurate structural model cannot be achieved for γ-Al2O3 if the cations are restricted to spinel positions. It was also found that electron diffraction patterns, typical for γ-Al2O3, could be indexed according to the I41/amd space group, which is a maximal subgroup of m Fd3 . Two models were presented which describe the structure more accurately; Cubic-16c, which describes cubic γ-Al2O3 and Tetragonal-8c, which describes tetragonal γ-Al2O3. The latter model was found to be a better description for the γ-Al2O3 samples studied. Chapter Eight describes the evolution of the structure with changing calcination temperature. Tetragonal γ-Al2O3 was found to be present between 450 and 750 °C. The structure showed a reduction in the tetragonal distortion with increasing temperature but at no stage was cubic γ-Al2O3 obtained. Examination of the progress of cation migration indicates the reduction in the tetragonal nature is due to ordering within inter-skeletal oxygen layers of the unit cell, left over from the breakdown of the hydroxide layers of boehmite when the transformation to γ-Al2O3 occurred. Above 750 °C, δ-Al2O3 was not observed, but a new phase was identified and designated γ.-Al2O3. / The structure of this phase was determined to be a triple cell of γ-Al2O3 and is herein described using the 2 4m P space group. Chapter Nine investigates the presence of hydrogen in the structure of γ-Al2O3. It was concluded that γ-Al2O3 derived from highly crystalline boehmite has a relatively well ordered bulk crystalline structure which contains no interstitial hydrogen and that hydrogen-containing species are located at the surface and within amorphous regions, which are located in the vicinity of pores. Expectedly, the specific surface area was found to decrease with increasing calcination temperature. This trend occurred concurrently with an increase in the mean pore and crystallite size and a reduction in the amount of hydrogen-containing species within the structure. It was also demonstrated that γ-Al2O3 derived from highly crystalline boehmite has a significantly higher surface area than expected, attributed to the presence of nano-pores and closed porosity. The results from the computational study are presented and discussed in Chapter Ten. Optimisation of the spinel-based structural models showed that structures with some non-spinel site occupancy were more energetically favourable. However, none of the structural models exhibited a configuration close to those determined from the experimental studies. Nor did any of the theoretical structures yield a diffraction pattern that was characteristic of γ-Al2O3. This discrepancy between the simulated and real structures means that the spinel-based starting structure models are not close enough to the true structure of γ-Al2O3 to facilitate the derivation of its representative configuration. / Large numbers of structures demonstrate migration of cations to c symmetry positions, providing strong evidence that c symmetry positions are inherent in the structure. This supports the Cubic-16c and Tetragonal-8c structure models presented in Chapter Seven and suggests that these models are universal for crystalline γ-Al2O3. Optimisation of c symmetry based structures, with starting configurations based on the experimental findings, resulted in simulated diffraction patterns that were characteristic of γ-Al2O3.

Within the collaborative research center SFB 920 “Multifunctional Filters for Metal Melt Filtration”, the thermally induced formation of metastable aluminum oxides and related microstructural changes were investigated. It was confirmed that the γ-Al₂O₃ phase possesses a defective spinel structure containing Al vacancies that preserve the stoichiometry of this phase. The presence of vacancies fragments apparently the γ-Al₂O₃ crystallites into nanocrystalline domains, which are separated by non-conservative antiphase boundaries (APBs) of the type {100} ¼<110>. These APBs form a 3D network that is randomly distributed over all crystallographically equivalent lattice planes. This phenomenon causes a starlike (and hkl-dependent) broadening of the reciprocal lattice points that correspond to the aluminum sublattice. It was shown that the extent of the broadening of the reciprocal lattice points can be predicted by employing the phase shift factors. With increasing degree of the APBs ordering, the initial streaks representing the broadened reflections start to split, forming superstructure reflections. This superstructure of γ-Al₂O₃ is commonly known as δ-Al₂O₃. Between the ordered APBs, the crystal structure of δ-Al₂O₃ is closely related to the crystal structure of monoclinic θ-Al₂O₃. The phase transition of γ-Al₂O₃/δ-Al₂O₃ to θ-Al₂O₃ proceeds via migration of just three Al³⁺ cations to the neighboring tetrahedral and octahedral sites in the cubic close packed (ccp) oxygen sublattice. The general migration vector is ⅛<111> (γ-Al₂O₃). Diffraction effects associated with different intermediate states can be explained by an improper long-range ordering of equivalent APBs or certain Al³⁺ cations and the local formation of θ-Al₂O₃ within the δ-Al₂O₃ superstructure. The formation of θ-Al₂O₃ is accompanied by an increase of the occupancy of the tetrahedral sites in the oxygen sublattice by the Al³⁺ cations. In surrounding local γ-Al₂O₃ domains, however, some cations migrate from the tetrahedral to the octahedral sites. Thus, the local formation of θ-Al₂O₃ is nearly invisible for the ²⁷Al 1D magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy. Still, it was recognized by the 2D multiple quantum (MQ) MAS NMR spectroscopy. A continuous formation of the θ-Al₂O₃ domains was confirmed by the Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The proposed microstructure and transformation models helped to explain the thermal stabilization of the metastable alumina phases by Si-doping. For investigation of the thermally induced phase transitions in metastable alumina phases, boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) was chosen as the starting compound. However, the metastable alumina phases were also observed in endogenous inclusions present in solidified steel melts. For identification of these phases, a procedure for reconstruction of spherical Kikuchi maps from recorded EBSD patterns was developed.