Hydrogenolysis of nitrosodimethyl amine in gas phase over Au/γ-Al_2O_3 nanocatalyst

摘要

Nitrosodimethyl amine (NDMA), as a carcinogenic byproduct in production of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine (UDMH) in space industries, should be decomposed in the vapor phase. A suitable method for this purpose is selective catalytic hydrogenolysis of NDMA over Au/γ-Al_2O_3 nanocatalyst. We synthesized and characterized the Au/γ-Al_2O_3 nanocatalyst by homogeneous deposition-precipitation (HDP)/DP-urea method. Activity of the catalyst was influenced by nanosized Au particles, Au loading and the bed temperature. The optimum parameters for the catalyst were: Au particles ＜5 nm, Au loading at 1.5 wt% and bed temperature of 35-45 ℃. The reaction was strongly sensitive to the Au particle size. The reaction occurred over the catalyst to produce dimethyl amine (DMA) and nitroxyl in a selective manner. The kinetics of NDMA hydrogenolysis over the nanocatalyst was studied in an integral fixed bed reactor. There existed a consistency with the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism involving dissociative adsorption of H_2 and NDMA.