The chemistry of the oxychlorination catalyst: an in situ, time-resolved XANES study

The rate determining step of the ethylene oxychlorination reaction on CuCl2/g-Al2O3 catalyst could be identified by an in situ, time resolved XANES study. According to XANES data and the simultaneously determined catalyst activity, it is the oxidation of CuCl. Potassium chloride dopant, added to the industrial catalysts, decreases the reduction rate, which becomes the rate determining step for the KCl/CuCl2/g-Al2O3 catalyst.