Critical role of (100) facets on Γ-Al2O3 for ethanol dehydration: Combined efforts of morphology-controlled synthesis and TEM study

Abstract

In this work, the effect of crystal facets on the catalytic behavior of γ-Al2O3 was investigated by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, temperature-programmed desorption of ethanol, solid-state 27Al NMR, infrared spectroscopy, and ethanol dehydration reaction. A series of platelet γ-Al2O3 were synthesized, in which the relative ratio of (100) facets had been systematically increased. Ethylene formation increased with increasing (100) facets, clearly demonstrating the critical role of these facets as active sites for ethanol dehydration on γ-Al2O3. This systematic approach is helpful for a better understanding of facet-dependent catalytic properties of γ-Al2O3 that arise from the interaction between the supported metal and the crystal facets.