Performance of niobium catalysts in a one-pot system for selective methanol conversion to dimethoxymethane under mild conditions

Abstract

In this work, the synthesis and application of catalysts based on niobium oxide were carried out in order to modify their acid and redox properties and make them active for the synthesis of dimethoxymethane (DMM), considered an excellent additive for diesel, in a single step. The materials were characterized by several techniques, where functionalization was confirmed by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, XPS and TPR analysis. The functionalization with sulphate groups in the materials did not promote significant surface area losses. In addition, acid sites quantification showed that the modification of materials with sulfate groups led to increased acidity. Depending on the conditions used, such as 1 wt% catalyst and 10 wt% hydrogen peroxide, in relation to the methanol mass used (1.98 g), for 5 h at 100 °C the functionalized catalysts provided methanol conversion above 80% with almost 100% of DMM selectivity.