Unconventional low temperature decomposition of a saturated hydrocarbon over atomically-dispersed titanium-aluminum-boron catalyst.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40701962.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-62112-2 and PMC identifier 12287445.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Sonochemically-synthesized atomically-dispersed titanium-aluminum-boron nanopowder (TiAlB NP) exhibits a remarkable low-temperature catalytic activation of aliphatic C-H bonds at 750 K followed by C-C bond activation thus emerging as a potent low-cost alternative to expensive platinum group metals. Here, the model saturated hydrocarbon, exo-tetrahydrodicyclopentadiene (C<sub>10</sub>H<sub>16</sub>), undergoes catalytic decomposition on TiAlB NPs in a chemical microreactor to produce 1,3-cyclopentadiene (c-C<sub>5</sub>H<sub>6</sub>), cyclopentene (c-C<sub>5</sub>H<sub>8</sub>), and molecular hydrogen (H<sub>2</sub>) as detected in situ via isomer-selective, single-photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Extensive electronic structure theory calculations on model clusters of the catalyst decode a unique synergy among the atomic constituents of the catalyst and chemical bonding in this stepwise, retro Diels Alder reaction: Ti, although insensitive to C-H activation in its metallic state, initiates the catalysis via chemisorption of the hydrocarbon, adjacent B centers readily abstract hydrogen atoms and store them during the catalytic cycle, while Al stabilizes the catalyst structure yet providing space for critical docking sites for the departing hydrocarbons.