Ethanol to Acetaldehyde Conversion under Thermal and Microwave Heating of ZnO-CuO-SiO2 Modified with WC Nanoparticles

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 26; no. 7; p. 1955
• Main Authors: Kustov, Alexander L., Tarasov, Andrey L., Tkachenko, Olga P., Mishin, Igor V., Kapustin, Gennady I., Kustov, Leonid M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 31-03-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Acetaldehyde; Additives; Alcohol; catalysis; Catalysts; Cations; Conversion; copper oxide; Copper oxides; dehydrogenation; Ethanol; Heating; Microwave heating; Nanoparticles; Radiation; Reagents; Selectivity; Silicon dioxide; Tungsten; tungsten carbide; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules26071955

The nonoxidative conversion of ethanol to acetaldehyde under thermal and microwave heating was studied on mixed oxide ZnO-CuO-SiO2 catalysts modified with additives of tungsten carbide nanoparticles. The results revealed that the WC-modified catalyst exhibited superior activity and selectivity under microwave heating conditions. It is assumed that when microwave heating is used, hot zones can appear at the contact points of WC nanoparticles and active centers of the mixed oxide ZnO-CuO-SiO2 catalyst, which intensively absorb microwave energy, allowing the more efficient formation of acetaldehyde at moderate temperatures. Thermodynamic calculations of equilibrium concentrations of reagents and products allowed us to identify the optimal conditions for effective acetaldehyde production. The initial catalyst and the catalyst prepared by the coprecipitation of the oxides with the addition of WC were characterized by physicochemical methods (TPR-H2, XRD, DRIFTS of adsorbed CO). The active centers of the oxide catalyst can be Cu+ cations.