Role of Sulfation of Zirconia Catalysts in Vapor Phase Ketonization of Acetic Acid.

ABSTRACT: The effect of the sulfation of zirconia catalysts on their structure, acidity/basicity, and catalytic activity/selectivity toward the ketonization of organic acids is investigated by a combined experimental and computational method. Here, we show that, upon sulfation, zirconia catalysts exhibit a significant increase in their Brønsted and Lewis acid strength, whereas their Lewis basicity is significantly reduced. Such changes in the interplay between acid-base sites result in an improvement of the selectivity toward the ketonization process, although the measured conversion rates show a significant drop. We report a detailed DFT investigation of the putative surface species on sulfated zirconia, including the possible formation of dimeric pyrosulfate (S₂O₇ ^2-

SUBMITTER: Delarmelina M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8713292 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature