Enhanced activity of microwave-activated CoOx/MOR catalyst for the epoxidation of α-pinene with air

Abstract

CoOx species is firstly introduced onto MOR (Mordenite) by impregnation with microwave heating to catalyze the epoxidation of α-pinene with air. The obtained samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, FTIR, SEM, TEM, BET surface area, porosity by N2 adsorption. 7%CoOx/MOR catalyst exhibits remarkably higher activity and selectivity in the epoxidation of α-pinene than that prepared by traditional heating impregnation. The epoxidation conversion of α-pinene over 7%CoOx/MOR prepared by microwave heating reaches 92.7 mol% in 4 h at 90 °C, which is nearly 1.5 times that of the catalyst by traditional impregnation. This is due to the fact that CoOx nanoparticles are produced by microwave heating and uniformly dispersed on MOR.