Abstract
Transition-metal-free oxides were studied as heterogeneous catalysts for the sustainable epoxidation of alkenes with aqueous H2O2 by means of high throughput experimentation (HTE) techniques. A full-factorial HTE approach was applied in the various stages of the development of the catalysts: the synthesis of the materials, their screening as heterogeneous catalysts in liquid-phase epoxidation and the optimisation of the reaction conditions. Initially, the chemical composition of transition-metal-free oxides was screened, leading to the discovery of gallium oxide as a novel, active and selective epoxidation catalyst. On the basis of these results, the research line was continued with the study of structured porous aluminosilicates, gallosilicates and silica-gallia composites. In general, the gallium-based materials showed the best catalytic performances. This family of materials represents a promising class of heterogeneous catalysts for the sustainable epoxidation of alkenes and offers a valid alternative to the transition-metal heterogeneous catalysts commonly used in epoxidation. High throughput experimentation played an important role in promoting the development of these catalytic systems.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 140-151 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - Feb-2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Gallium oxide
- Al-SBA-15
- Ga-SBA-15
- sustainable epoxidation
- full-factorial
- MESOPOROUS MOLECULAR-SIEVES
- HYDROGEN-PEROXIDE
- HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSIS
- TI-MCM-41 NANOPARTICLES
- ALUMINA
- COMBINATORIAL
- OXIDATION
- SBA-15
- CHEMISTRY
- SILICA