Catalysts
of iron oxide on γ-alumina and silica which were
prepared by an incipient wetness impregnation technique have been
investigated in an effort to understand how the surface chemical properties
are influenced by the nature of the supports. Surprisingly, this is
the first study to compare in depth the influence of the supports
on physicochemical parameters such as acidity, site nuclearity, and
reducibility. In this study, surface characterisation techniques including
N
2
physisorption at −196 °C, ammonia temperature-programmed
desorption, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry,
temperature-programmed reduction with hydrogen, CO-chemisorption,
scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and
NO adsorption by in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy have
been performed to understand the different surface reactions occurring
over the two different supports. The aim of this study is to ascertain
the primary differences between these two catalysts using several
catalyst characterization techniques and correlate their chemical
and structural differences to their catalytic activity in the conversion
of 2-chlorophenol. The results disclose a higher density of acid sites,
a smaller particle size of iron oxide, stabilization of Fe(II) aluminate
after reduction on the alumina surface, and finally, the formation
of isolated iron cations on the surface of alumina which are notably
absent on the silica-supported catalyst.