Effect of solvents on pore characteristics and catalytic activities of heteropolyacid-polymer composite film catalyst

Abstract

Abstract H 3 PMo 12 O 40 -polysulfone composite film catalysts were prepared by membrane preparation techniques. These two materials were blended using dimethylformamide or methanol-chloroform mixture. Pore characteristics of H 3 PMo 12 O 40 -polysulfone composite catalysts were controlled by a phase inversion method. The composite film catalysts were used as fixed-bed catalysts for the vapor-phase ethanol conversion in a continuous flow reactor. Effects of solvent on the pore characteristics and catalytic activities of composite catalysts were investigated. It was observed that H3PMo 12 O 40 was physically dispersed throughout polysulfone matrix as fine particles. Pore characteristics of composite catalysts strongly depended on the preparation conditions. All the composite film catalysts showed the modified catalytic activities in the model reaction compared to the mother acid.