Selective Catalytic Oxidation of Cyclopentene to Glutaraldehyde over Amorphous Nb2O5/AC Catalysts

Abstract

AbstractActivated carbon supported Nb2O5 catalysts were prepared and applied in the selective catalytic oxidation of cyclopentene to glutaraldehyde with 30 % H2O2 as the oxidant. The 12 %Nb2O5/AC catalysts were characterized by the X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy; the results indicated Nb2O5 particles are of amorphous character. The effects of reaction conditions on the selective catalytic oxidation of cyclopentene were investigated. The conversion of cyclopentene was 84.3 % and the selectivity to glutaraldehyde was up to 75.3 % under the optimized reaction conditions. The radicals trapping experiments combined with the ATR infrared spectra characterization demonstrated that the reactive oxygen species for the catalytic oxidation of cyclopentene to glutaraldehyde over the Nb2O5/AC catalyst are superoxide radical and Nb(OO) species. The adsorbed organic species on the catalyst surface could lead to deactivation of the catalyst.