A series
of supported ReO
x
catalysts
were investigated that allowed identifying the unique surface anchoring
sites on oxide supports responsible for activating the surface ReO4 sites for propylene metathesis (the catalytic active site).
The catalysts were synthesized by incipient-wetness impregnation of
aqueous HReO4 onto the oxide supports (Al2O3, ZrO2, TiO2, SiO2, and CeO2), characterized under dehydrated and propylene metathesis
reaction conditions with in situ spectroscopy (Raman, DRIFTS, UV–vis
and NAP-XPS), and chemically probed (CH3CHCH2–TPSR, CH2CH2/CH3CHCHCH3 titration and steady-state self-metathesis
of propylene to ethylene and 2-butene). The initially calcined supported
rhenia species anchor as isolated surface Re7+O4 sites on the oxide supports by reacting with the surface hydroxyls
(terminal S–OH, bridged S–OH–S, and tricoordinated
S3–OH) of the oxide supports. The specific oxide
support was found to control the number of activated sites (Al2O3 ≫ ZrO2 > CeO2 >
TiO2 > SiO2) and propylene metathesis activity
(Al2O3 ≫ ZrO2 ≫ TiO2 ∼ CeO2 ∼ SiO2), revealing
that the oxide support action is a potent ligand for the surface ReO
x
sites. The activation and specific activity
of the surface ReO
x
sites depend on several
factors (nature of surface hydroxyls (S3–OH >
S–OH–S
> S–OH), coordination of the oxide support surface cation
(ZrO7, AlO6, CeO4) and electronegativity
of the oxide support cation (SiO2 > Al2O3 > TiO2 > ZrO2 > CeO2). No
relationships exist between olefin metathesis activity and acid strength
of surface Lewis and Brønsted sites. Prior studies primarily
focused on supported ReO
x
/Al2O3, and the lack of examination of non-Al2O3 supported rhenia catalysts precluded comparison between efficient
and inefficient olefin metathesis catalysts, which prevented identifying
the catalytic active site for olefin metathesis by supported ReO
x
catalysts.