Keynote Lecture: Synthesis of fine chemicals by heterogeneous catalysis; A critical approach of the role of solvent for hydrogenation reactions

C.R. APESTEGUÍA

San Francisco

Congreso; 2013 AIChE Annual Meeting, American Institute of Chemical Engineers; 2013

The synthesis of fine chemicals over solid catalysts often involves the use of solvents that may strongly influence the catalyst performance. Thus, the choice of suitable solvents is frequently critical to obtain high catalytic activity and selectivity. However, the optimal solvent selection requires a detailed knowledge on the relationship between the chemical nature of the solvents and the interactions taking place in the gas-liquid-solid catalytic systems. One of the most common types of catalytic reactions carried out in the presence of solvents is the hydrogenation of organic compounds. In particular, the selective hydrogenation of aromatic ketones into the corresponding alcohols on metal-based catalysts in the presence of different solvents has been widely studied. Here, the solvent effect on catalyst activity and selectivity for the liquid-phase hydrogenation of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol was thoroughly investigated over Ni/SiO2.