BACKGROUND: Cyclohexyl acetate and acetone are used as environmentally friendly solvents, while isobutene acts as an intermediate in methacrolein, ethers, plastics and pharmaceuticals production. Two La‐zeolites catalysts have been studied for converting acetic acid to cyclohexyl acetate, acetone and isobutene.
RESULTS: La based zeolites were synthesized from Na‐nFAU zeolites by ammonium ion‐exchanged, followed by lanthanum ion‐exchanged. The influence of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites on the activity in acetic acid esterification with cyclohexanol and in ketonic decarboxylation of acetic acid was studied. Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of pyridine adsorption has been used for acid sites evaluation. The presence of Brønsted acid sites on the surface leads to an increase in cyclohexylacetate and acetone selectivity, while the presence of Lewis acidity favors further transformation of acetone in isobutene.
CONCLUSION: The sample with the highest Brønsted acidity and the highest content in both La and Al, namely La‐H‐13X, showed the highest activity for both acetic acid esterification and ketonic decarboxylation, being an indication that Brønsted acidity is very important for the studied reactions.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/wenyu_huang/82/
This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Mitran, Gheorghiţa, Shaojiang Chen, Wenyu Huang, and Dong‐Kyun Seo. "LA‐H‐Zeolites Efficient Catalysts For Acetic Acid Ketonic Decarboxylation and Esterification." Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1002/jctb.6732. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. Posted with permission.