Reactions of isobutanol over a NASICON-type Ni-containing catalyst activated by plasma treatments

The effect of hydrogen and argon high-frequency (HF) plasma treatment on the catalytic activity of the nickel zirconium phosphate Ni<inf>0.5</inf>Zr<inf>2</inf>(PO<inf>4</inf>)<inf>3</inf> in isobutanol dehydration and dehydrogenation has been investigated. The catalyst treated with H<inf>2</inf>-HF and Ar-HF plasmas shows a ∼2 times higher activity in both reactions. This effect is due to surface restructuring changing the number and accessibility of catalytic sites on the phosphate surface. © 2015 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.