Supported TiO2–Pd bifunctional catalysts for the one-pot synthesis of methyl isobutyl ketone from acetone: modulation of the acid and base property of loaded TiO2 by support

Abstract

In this work, we prepared a series of supported TiO2–Pd bifunctional catalysts for one-pot synthesis of methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) from acetone. The effects of supports including SiO2 with different pore structure, Al2O3 calcined at varied temperature, and F-modification on the catalytic performance were investigated. The results showed that microporous SiO2 was not beneficial to the dispersion of TiO2 inspite its high specific surface area. The calcination of Al2O3 had little effect on the acid and base property of TiO2 loaded thereon. F-modification of support was proved to be an effective way to modulate the acid and base property of TiO2 loaded thereon. As for the catalytic performance, TiO2 loaded on the F-modified mesoporous SiO2 showed the performance 60.9% MIBK yield, with acetone conversion of 77.2% and MIBK selectivity of 78.9%, higher than those ever reported. The excellent performance could be attributed to the enhanced electronic transfer between TiO2 and SiO2 after F modification which greatly affected the acid and base property of loaded TiO2. Taking the advantages of facile synthesis and high performance, the as-reported TiO2/SiO2(B-F)&Pd/Cor catalyst could be a promising alternative for one-pot synthesis of MIBK from acetone.