A shaped catalyst body for producing ethylene oxide by gas-phase oxidation of ethylene, having a BET surface area in the range of 2 to 20 m2/g and comprising silver and a rhenium promotor deposited on a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support, characterized in that the support has a calcination history of at least 1460° C. The catalyst support has a high surface area and little ethylene oxide isomerization and/or decomposition activity. The invention further relates to a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support having a BET surface area of 1.7 to 10 m2/g, the porous alpha-alumina catalyst support being obtainable by a) preparing a precursor material comprising a transition alumina and/or an alumina hydrate; b) forming the precursor material into shaped bodies; and c) calcining the shaped bodies at a temperature of 1460° C. to 1700° C. to obtain the porous alpha-alumina support. The invention also relates to a process for producing ethylene oxide by gas-phase oxidation of ethylene, comprising reacting ethylene and oxygen in the presence of a shaped catalyst body as described above.

A process for producing a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support, comprising i) preparing a precursor material comprising, based on inorganic solids content, at least 50 wt.-% of a transition alumina having a loose bulk density of at most 600 g/L, a pore volume of at least 0.6 mL/g and a median pore diameter of at least 15 nm; and at most 30 wt.-% of an alumina hydrate; ii) forming the precursor material into shaped bodies; and iii) calcining the shaped bodies to obtain the porous alpha-alumina catalyst support. The catalyst support has a high overall pore volume, thus allowing for impregnation with a high amount of silver, while keeping its surface area sufficiently large so as to provide optimal dispersion of catalytically active species, in particular metal species. The invention further relates to a shaped catalyst body for producing ethylene oxide by gas-phase oxidation of ethylene, comprising at least 15 wt.-% of silver, relative to the total weight of the catalyst, deposited on a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support obtained in the process described above. The invention also relates to a process for preparing a shaped catalyst body as described above comprising impregnating a porous alpha-alumina catalyst support obtained in the process described above with a silver impregnation solution, preferably under reduced pressure; and optionally subjecting the impregnated porous alumina support to drying; and b) subjecting the impregnated porous alpha-alumina support to a heat treatment; wherein steps a) and b) are optionally repeated. The invention further relates to a process for producing ethylene oxide by gas-phase oxidation of ethylene, comprising reacting ethylene and oxygen in the presence of a shaped catalyst body as described above.

The present invention provides a magnetic Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 nanosphere with PNH surface modification and application thereof in water treatment. First, 2,2-bipyridyl-5,5′-dicarboxylic acid is reacted with thionyl chloride to obtain 2,2-bipyridyl-5,5′-diacid chloride; then 2,2-bipyridyl-5,5′-diacid chloride and 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane react in the presence of triethylamine to obtain a polynitrogen heterocyclic polymer; the polynitrogen heterocyclic polymer is added into an aqueous solution with iron salt to obtain a magnetic Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 nanosphere with PNH surface modification which has strong light absorption ability, which improves its ability to catalyze in degradation of tetracycline under visible light, so that the pollutants are removed from water.

A water-based paint composition includes a manganese oxide-based catalyst, activated carbon, at least one water-soluble resin selected from a group consisting of acrylic resin, modified acrylic resin, and fluorocarbon resin, a polyacrylate-based dispersant, and a water-based solvent. The water-based paint composition, although including the manganese oxide-based catalyst, allows a coating film to be resistant to chalking and weather.

A method for the low-temperature heat treatment of toluene by using a composite material having a ternary NiO nanosheet @ bimetallic CeCuO.sub.x microsheet core-shell structure. The composite material having the ternary NiO nanosheet @ bimetallic CeCuO.sub.x microsheet core-shell structure is placed in an environment containing toluene, and is heated at a low temperature to complete the treatment of toluene. The use of precious metal particles loading is avoided for the catalyst, and the costs of materials is thus greatly reduced. Moreover, nickel oxide grows on CeCuO.sub.x microsheet nanosheets. The preparation process is relatively simple, and the catalytic performance on toluene is excellent. Therefore, the method has high economical practicability and research value. The 3Ni/CeCuO.sub.x catalyst may completely catalyze toluene at 210° C., which has great research significance and certain application prospects for the actual solution of toluene polluted gas in the air environment.

The present invention disclosed an improved process for the preparation of bimetallic core-shell nanoparticles by using facile aqueous phase synthesis strategy and their application in catalysis such as selective hydrogenation of alkynes into alkenes or alkanes and CO hydrogenation to hydrocarbons.

A method of providing a particulate material from an at least substantially metallic and/or ceramic starting material, comprising the following steps:

(a) generating the particulate material from the starting material by vaporizing the starting material by introducing energy, preferably radiation energy, in particular by means of at least one laser, into the starting material and subsequently at least partially condensing the vaporized starting material,

b) collecting the particulate material in at least one receiving and/or transporting device, in particular at least one container,

c) receiving, in particular storing, and/or transporting the particulate material in the receiving and/or transporting device and/or in a further receiving and/or transporting device such that it can be used for a subsequent process, in particular in a state of at least non-permanent passivation, and

d) providing the particulate material for the subsequent process.

Here disclosed is a composite catalyst for methane cracking and a method of producing the composite catalyst. The composite catalyst includes a substrate formed of metal oxide, and one or more catalytic transition metals solubilized in the metal oxide, wherein the metal oxide includes a metal which differs from the one or more catalytic transition metals, wherein the metal oxide forms a matrix which the one or more catalytic transition metals are solubilized in to render transition metal ions from the one or more catalytic transition metals, wherein the transition metal ions under a reducing atmosphere diffuse to reside as transition metal nanoparticles at a surface of the substrate and the transition metal nanoparticles under an oxidizing atmosphere diffuse away from the surface to reside as transition metal ions in the metal oxide, and wherein the transition metal nanoparticles at the surface induce carbon from the methane cracking to deposit on the transition metal nanoparticles and have the carbon deposited grow away from the substrate.

A particulate material and a process for the production thereof are provided, which particulate material comprises zeolitic particles having a crystalline structure, which contain as the main component a zeolite material having a zeolitic framework structure formed from Si, O and optionally Al, and/or a zeolite-like material having a zeolitic framework structure which is formed not only from Si, O and optionally Al, wherein the zeolitic particles are in the form of essentially spherical particles with nanometer dimensions.

A method for preparing a metal-free few-layer phosphorous nanomaterial. The method comprises an ice-assisted exfoliation process (or solvent ice-assisted exfoliation process). The method allows for the preparation of a few-layer phosphorous nanomaterial with improved yield and reduced duration and exfoliation power. The few-layer phosphorous nanomaterial is used in the preparation of a photocatalyst. The photocatalyst exhibits a long-term stability, high photocatalytic H.sub.2 evolution efficiency from water, and good stability under visible light irradiation.