Frontal chromatography

The reactive frontal chromatography (engl .: Reactive frontal chromatography ; RFC ) is a method for determining the surface of certain catalytically active metals is used.

How nitrous oxide frontal chromatography works

The catalytically active copper surface in catalysts, for example for the synthesis of methanol to determine the frontal can with nitrous oxide may be used. A defined stream of laughing gas is passed over the reduced catalyst. The laughing gas is adsorbed and split on the copper surface . The nitrogen is desorbed again, while the oxygen reacts with the copper and remains on the surface.

{\ displaystyle \ mathrm {N_ {2} O + 2 \ Cu \ longrightarrow N_ {2} + Cu_ {2} O}}

The resulting amount of nitrogen is measured, for example with a mass spectrometer . This is proportional to the copper surface. Assuming that there are 1.46 · 10 ¹⁹ copper atoms per square meter , the active copper surface can be determined.

Individual evidence

↑ GC Chinchen, CM Hay, HD Vandervell, KC Waugh: The measurement of copper surface areas by reactive frontal chromatography. In: Journal of Catalysis. Vol. 103, No. 1, 1987, pp. 79-86, doi : 10.1016 / 0021-9517 (87) 90094-7
↑ ED Batyrev, JC van den Heuvel, J. Becker, WPA Jansen, HL Castricum: The effect of the reduction temperature on the structure of Cu / ZnO / SiO ₂ catalysts for methanol synthesis. In: Journal of Catalysis. Vol. 229, No. 1, 2005, pp. 136-143, doi : 10.1016 / j.jcat.2004.10.012 .

[1] GC Chinchen, CM Hay, HD Vandervell, KC Waugh: The measurement of copper surface areas by reactive frontal chromatography. In: Journal of Catalysis. Vol. 103, No. 1, 1987, pp. 79-86, doi : 10.1016 / 0021-9517 (87) 90094-7

[2] ED Batyrev, JC van den Heuvel, J. Becker, WPA Jansen, HL Castricum: The effect of the reduction temperature on the structure of Cu / ZnO / SiO ₂ catalysts for methanol synthesis. In: Journal of Catalysis. Vol. 229, No. 1, 2005, pp. 136-143, doi : 10.1016 / j.jcat.2004.10.012 .