Solvent-free alcohol oxidation using paper-structured catalysts: Flow dynamics and reaction kinetics

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Vol. 285; pp. 467 - 476
• Main Authors: Homma, Taichi, Kitaoka, Takuya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.02.2016
• Subjects: Alcohol oxidation; Catalytic selectivity; Microfluidic behavior; Multiphase reaction; Paper catalyst; Catalytic selectivity; Microfluidic behavior; Multiphase reaction; Paper catalyst; Alcohol oxidation
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2015.09.113

[Display omitted] •Flexible, porous, paper-structured catalysts with Pd nanoparticles were prepared.•Paper catalysts showed high catalytic activity in solvent-free alcohol oxidation.•Paper structures changed oxidation pathways to synthesize specific products.•Smooth microfluidic behavior inside paper improved catalytic selectivity. Paper-structured fibrous composites with micrometer-sized pores were prepared using a papermaking technique, followed by in situ synthesis of Pd nanoparticles in the paper matrix using a facile impregnation method. The Pd-containing paper-structured catalysts showed high catalytic activities in solvent-free benzyl alcohol oxidation in a flow reaction system. Highly selective oxidation was achieved using the porous paper-structured catalysts set inside a gas–liquid–solid multiphase reactor. Kinetic and mechanistic studies of various reactions showed that the catalytic activity and selectivity were associated with microfluidic behavior in the fiber-network pores. A uniform distribution of the liquid-phase substrate, i.e., benzyl alcohol, provided high catalytic activity. High selectivity for the oxidation pathways can be attributed to efficient gas–liquid–solid mass transfer toward the thin liquid layer formed at the interface between the alcohol and Pd catalyst inside the porous fiber networks.