Effects of Catalyst Precursor Type and Preparation Conditions, and Solvent Type on Activity and Selectivity of Pt/SiO2 Catalyst in Citral Hydrogenation

Abstract

In this study, citral hydrogenation reaction in liquid phase over silica gel supported Pt catalysts was investigated. It was desired to hydrogenate carbonyl group selectively to produce valuable unsaturated alcohols, namely geraniol and nerol. Pt/SiO2 catalysts were prepared by impregnation method. The effects of parameters investigated in the present study included Pt precursor type (hexachloroplatinic acid (HCLPA), platinum II acetylacetonate (PAA)), catalyst activation temperature (350°C and 450°C), catalyst activation without calcination, catalyst washing with 0.1 M NaOH and solvent type (ethanol, 2-pentanol). The catalysts activities and selectivities were affected by the type of precursor and activation temperature. The maximum citral conversion (89.50 percent) was achieved at lower activation temperature (350°C) with PAA precursor based catalyst. It was observed that higher activation temperature provided lower citral conversion but higher selectivity to unsaturated alcohols; increasing the activation temperature to 450°C decreased citral conversion to 26.10 percent. But selectivity to unsaturated alcohols, geraniol and nerol, increased from 7.06 to 54.60 percent. Catalyst washing and 2-pentanol prevented acetal formation. Catalyst activation without calcination gave lower citral conversion (20.84 percent) and selectivity to unsaturated alcohols (30.00 percent).