Influence of Surface Heterogeneities on Complexation of Ethylene with Active Sites of NiMCM-41 Nanocatalyst: A Density Functional Theory Study

Ghambarian, Mehdi; Ghashghaee, Mohammad; Azizi, Zahra; Balar, Mahboobeh

doi:10.22036/pcr.2019.153980.1555

Influence of Surface Heterogeneities on Complexation of Ethylene with Active Sites of NiMCM-41 Nanocatalyst: A Density Functional Theory Study

Document Type : Regular Article

Authors

Mehdi Ghambarian ¹

Mohammad Ghashghaee ²

Zahra Azizi ³

Mahboobeh Balar ⁴

¹ Gas Conversion Department, Faculty of Petrochemicals, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O. Box 14975-112, Tehran, Iran

² Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute

³ Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University

⁴ Department of Chemistry, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, P.O. Box 31485-313, Karaj, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22036/pcr.2019.153980.1555

Abstract

Consecutive adsorption of ethylene molecules on different nanoclusters as representatives of the active sites of NiMCM-41 catalyst was investigated with respect to structural, topological, and energetic properties at the B3LYP/6-311+G* and M06/Def2-TZVP levels of theory. The dimeric adsorption of the ethylene molecules was found to be exothermic on all sites (adsorption enthalpies ranging from –54.7 to –13.1 kcal/mol at M06/Def2-TZVP) with the most favorable adsorption on 2T while being non-spontaneous on 5T sites. The π complexation led to positive total charges on the adsorptive molecules, a lengthening of the Ni–O and C=C distances, and reduced O–Ni–O angles, with the smallest changes on 2T and the largest alterations on 4T and 5T. The QTAIM analysis revealed closed-shell interactions between the nickel ion and the olefinic bond. The calculated HOMO–LUMO gaps attributed the highest and lowest reactivities to the adsorption complexes formed on 2T and 5T (4.22 and 3.11 eV at B3LYP/6-311+G*), respectively. The presented results underscored the importance of a systematic study of the adsorption steps on different active sites of transition metal catalysts.

Graphical Abstract