Surface Characterisation of Heterogeneous Catalysts
Heterogeneous catalysts are used in most reactions in the chemical industry. Since the composition of the outermost atomic layer of the catalyst determines the activity and selectivity, it is important to know its surface composition. This is true for every stage of catalyst research, whether it is in development, optimisation and tuning or troubleshooting, when a catalyst doesn’t perform as expected.
Examples of typical topics are:
- Surface composition of catalysts
- Influence of the catalyst preparation method
- Causes for catalyst deactivation
- Characterisation of supported metal particles
- Influence of thermal and/or chemical treatments.
Since catalysts change during the reaction it is important to get the catalyst in the right state prior to the analysis. Therefore, the catalysts can be analysed as-is or after an in situ pretreatment.
Case Studies