Abstract: According to the results of our DFT simulations, the experimentally observed high electron affinity of solid acid catalysts can be explained assuming that dissociation to the positive and negative charges occurs on their surface during activation. The resulting sites are remarkably similar in their properties to the species resulting from the electrolytic dissociation of strong homogeneous acids and superacids and accounting for their reactivity. For the first time the concentrations of electronacceptor sites were measured during catalytic and solid-state reactions. The experimental correlations between the concentrations of the electron-acceptor sites and the catalytic activity in reactions catalyzed by acids suggest that these reactions are likely to occur on such sites rather than on more abundant traditional acid sites. Such sites also seem to be responsible for at least some bulk solid-state reactions.

Cite: Bedilo A.F. , Shuvarakova E.I.
Surface Electron-Acceptor Sites: Their Structure and Role in Catalytic and Solid-State Reactions
EuropaCat-XII: 12th European Congress on Catalysis “Catalysis: Balancing the use of fossil and renewable resources” 30 Aug - 4 Sep 2015