Chemical Vapor Deposition of Al 13 Fe 4 Highly Selective Catalytic Films for the Semi‐Hydrogenation of Acetylene

• Published in: Physica status solidi. A, Applications and materials science Applications and materials science, 2018-01, Vol.215 (2)
• Main Authors: Aviziotis, Ioannis G., Duguet, Thomas, Soussi, Khaled, Heggen, Marc, Lafont, Marie‐Christine, Morfin, Franck, Mishra, Shashank, Daniele, Stephane, Boudouvis, Andreas G., Vahlas, Constantin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Catalysis; Chemical Sciences; Environment and Society; Environmental Sciences; Material chemistry
• ISSN: 1862-6300; 1862-6319
• DOI: 10.1002/pssa.201700692

Catalytic properties of coatings containing the Al 13 Fe 4 intermetallic phase are tested in the reaction of semi-hydrogenation of acetylene. The selectivity to ethylene is found as high as 74% close to the reported values for pure, unsupported Al 13 Fe 4. The initial conversion of acetylene to ethylene is 84% and rapidly drops due to the catalytic formation of carbon-based by-products on secondary Al-Fe phases. Coatings are processed through sequential chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of aluminum (5 Torr, 180 C) and iron (40 Torr, 140 C) layers, followed by in situ annealing for 60 min at 575 C. Deposition proceeds at high growth rate, resulting in 15 μm thick films. After annealing, coatings are composed of the Al 13 Fe 4 phase, co-existing with minor secondary Al-Fe intermetallic phases. Overall, it is shown that films containing complex Al-Fe intermetallic phases can be processed by CVD, opening new routes to the engineering of pure, supported Al 13 Fe 4 catalysts on 3D or porous supports.