Supported copper nanoarchitecture for selective ethylbenzene oxidation (EBO) reaction

Abstract

Copper-based (Cu-NP) uniformly dispersed on various inorganic supports (alumina, silica, titania, and zirconia) were prepared by the reverse microemulsion technique. These nanoparticles were used for the selective oxidation of ethylbenzene (EB) to produce acetophenone (AP) as the main product in the presence of Tert‑butyl hydroperoxide(TBHP) as an oxidant. This study focused on creating Cu-nanoparticles evenly dispersed on alumina using varying Cu-loadings (5 %, 10 %, and 15% wt.) and Brij-35 as the surfactant. The resulting catalytic material was characterized using various physicochemical techniques like XRD, FESEM, HRTEM, XPS and physisorption techniques. Various parametric studies were conducted, such as the effects of temperature, catalyst support, catalyst loading, and TBHP loading to optimize the EB conversions and AP selectivity. Among the various catalyst loadings, 15 % CuO/Al2O3 (15 % of the copper content) nanocomposites showed exceptional performance, with the highest EB conversion rate (99.7 %) and AP selectivity (98.5 %) compared to other nanocomposites. The catalyst's stability and recyclability over four cycles were attributed to the strong copper oxide-alumina interaction. These findings suggest that this nanocomposite material is a promising candidate for catalytic applications, offering high selectivity and consistent EB conversion rates.