Application of SnOx/AC catalyst for the acetylene hydrochlorination

In this work, SnOx/activated carbon (AC) was synthesized by hydrothermal method, which was applied to acetylene hydrochlorination. Characterizations showed the SnOx nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the carbon, with the co-existence of SnO and SnO2. The acetylene conversion of SnOx/AC was 75%, much higher than that of SnCl4/AC. It was shown that the adsorption of reactants on SnOx was stronger than on SnCl4. Theoretical calculations showed the adsorption energies of reactants on SnOx were thermodynamically favorable and suggested that Sn4+ and Sn2+ in SnOx have different adsorption capacities for reactants. Through adjusting the valence ratio of SnOx, SnOx/AC O 4 h (O for oxidation) exhibited the best catalytic performance and had the strongest adsorption capacity for the reactants. However, the SnOx/AC catalyst was easily deactivated during acetylene hydrochlorination due to the loss of Sn. The doping of N effectively reduced the loss of Sn and improved the stability of the catalyst due to the anchoring effect of N on the SnOx particles.