Synthesis, kinetic study, and applications of polyethyleneimine supported nano zirconium chromate in oxidation of furfuryl alcohol to corresponding carbonyl compound

Abstract

The efficiency of highly branched polyethyleneimine has been investigated as a support for nano zirconium chromate and subsequent use as a heterogeneous oxidant for selective oxidation of furfuryl alcohol to furfural. These were synthesized using polyethyleneimine to produce a polymer coordinated nano zirconium, a noble and straightforward method for screening high catalytically active polymer nano composites. The one-step systematic derivatization of the polyethyleneimine scaffold led structurally correlated to the stabilization of zirconium nanoparticles and catalysis. Analysis of this polymeric reagent identified the zirconium chromate nano composite that was able to be effective to oxidation reaction in tetrahydrofuran under mild conditions due to the surface area of the nano zirconium chromate per unit volume. Capacity of the reagent and fixation of nano zirconium chromate is confirmed by ICP and atomic absorption technique. Morphology of this nano composite is investigated by SEM and TEM. The kinetic of oxidation of furfuryl alcohol, over heterogeneous catalyst, nano zirconium chromate in THF, were investigated. Power-law rate model was applied to describe the experimental results and obtain the orders of the reaction with respect to furfuryl alcohol, catalyst, and furfural, which were found to be 0.989, 0.991, and −0.68, respectively, with the activation energy of 76.78 kJ/mol.