Enhancing Four-Carbon Olefin Production from Acetylene over Copper Nanoparticles in Metal-Organic Frameworks

Louis R. Redfern, Wei Shang Lo, Ian J. Dillingham, Jamila G. Eatman, Mohammad Rasel Mian, Chia Kuang Tsung, Omar K. Farha*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Four-carbon olefins, such as 1-butene and 1,3-butadiene, are important chemical feedstocks for the production of adhesives and synthetic rubber. These compounds are found in the C4 fraction of "green oil"products that can arise during the hydrogenation of acetylene. Here, we demonstrate that control of the catalyst structure increases the yield and productivity of these important olefins with a family of catalyst materials comprising Cu nanoparticles (CuNPs) bound within the pores of Zr-based metal-organic frameworks. Using carbon monoxide as a probe molecule, we characterize the surfaces of these catalytic CuNPs with diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, revealing that the electronic structure of the CuNP surfaces is size-dependent. Furthermore, we find that as the CuNP diameter decreases, the selectivity for C4 products increases and that lowering the stoichiometric ratio of H2/acetylene improves the selectivity and productivity of the catalyst.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)31496-31502
Number of pages7
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume12
Issue number28
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 15 2020

Keywords

  • acetylene dimerization
  • green oil
  • heterogeneous catalysis
  • metal-organic framework
  • nanoparticle

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Enhancing Four-Carbon Olefin Production from Acetylene over Copper Nanoparticles in Metal-Organic Frameworks'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this