The influence of plasma chemical treatment of copper-containing complex zirconium phosphates on the catalytic transformations of butanol-2

The catalytic activity of sodium-zirconium phosphates of the Nasicon family in reactions of butanol-2 was studied before and after their treatment in a glow-discharge oxygen plasma. The catalysts had the composition Na 1-2xCuxZr2(PO4)3, where x = 0, 0.15, 0.25, and 0.35. Plasma chemical treatment was found to increase the yield of butenes in the dehydration reaction by a factor of 1.5-3 at a 100% selectivity. The strongest effect of plasma chemical treatment was observed for the sample free of copper (x = 0). The activation energy of dehydration decreased for untreated samples and increased for samples subjected to plasma chemical treatment as the content of copper grew. The acidity of the surface of catalysts was studied spectrophotometrically using test adsorption of pyridine. The adsorption value changed insignificantly after plasma chemical treatment but depended on x and the temperature of adsorption. Copyright © 2005 by Pleiades Publishing, Inc.