US EPA

6604322 

Journal Article 

Aerobic epoxidation of limonene using cobalt substituted mesoporous SBA-16 Part 1: Optimization via Response Surface Methodology (RSM) 

Madadi, S; Charbonneau, Luc; Bergeron, JY; Kaliaguine, S; , 

2020 

Yes 

Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
ISSN: 0926-3373 

ELSEVIER 

AMSTERDAM 

260 

10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.118049 

WOS:000496894300009 

Cobalt substituted mesoporous SBA-16 catalysts, made by post grafting technique using directly cobalt acetylacetonate as the precursor was prepared. High loading of cobalt finely dispersed on SBA-16 silica was obtained. The Co/SBA-16 catalysts exhibited high conversion and selectivity in epoxidation of limonene towards limonene epoxides with molecular oxygen as the most desirable oxidant and isobutyraldehyde as co-reagent under very mild conditions in the presence of the green solvent ethylacetate. A variety of characterization techniques such as nitrogen physisorption, XRD, DR-UV-vis, XPS, TEM indicates that the proposed impregnation procedure is a highly tunable and reproducible strategy to disperse transition metals in mesoporous silica materials. The unique pore structure of Co/SBA-16 catalysts could be beneficial for the epoxidation of bulky alkene molecules. The reaction conditions were systematically investigated using a statistical experimental design. Repeated catalytic tests showed no remarkable difference in the activity of fresh and recycled catalysts over three process cycles. 

Aerobic epoxidation; Limonene; Molecular oxygen; Cobalt substituted mesoporous SBA-16; Response surface methodology