Hydrolysis of Hexafluoroethane (PFC-116) over Alumina–zirconia Catalysts Prepared from γ-Alumina and Boehmite

The reaction rate of the hydrolysis of hexafluoroethane (PFC-116) was measured using alumina–zirconia catalysts prepared from γ-alumina and boehmite. The hydrolysis rate of PFC-116 increased linearly with more total acid sites in the alumina–zirconia catalyst prepared from γ-alumina. In contrast, the hydrolysis rate of PFC-116 increased monotonically but not linearly with more total acid sites in the alumina–zirconia catalyst prepared from boehmite. Alumina–zirconia catalyst prepared from boehmite is known to have two types of acid properties (acid sites (I) and acid sites (II)), so the relationships between the number of acid sites I and II and the decomposition rate of PFC-116 were investigated, which showed that the decomposition rate of PFC-116 had a good linear relationship with the number of both types of acid sites. In addition, whether the hydrolysis reaction of PFC-116 proceeds only with acid sites (II) after inactivating the acid sites (I) was investigated using the hydrolysis reaction of tetrafluoromethane, which showed that the hydrolysis reaction of PFC-116 proceeds only with acid sites (II).