Supported TiO2–Pd bifunctional catalysts for the one-pot synthesis of methyl isobutyl ketone from acetone: modulation of the acid and base property of loaded TiO2 by support

In this work, we prepared a series of supported TiO 2 –Pd bifunctional catalysts for one-pot synthesis of methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) from acetone. The effects of supports including SiO 2 with different pore structure, Al 2 O 3 calcined at varied temperature, and F-modification on the catalytic performance were investigated. The results showed that microporous SiO 2 was not beneficial to the dispersion of TiO 2 inspite its high specific surface area. The calcination of Al 2 O 3 had little effect on the acid and base property of TiO 2 loaded thereon. F-modification of support was proved to be an effective way to modulate the acid and base property of TiO 2 loaded thereon. As for the catalytic performance, TiO 2 loaded on the F-modified mesoporous SiO 2 showed the performance 60.9% MIBK yield, with acetone conversion of 77.2% and MIBK selectivity of 78.9%, higher than those ever reported. The excellent performance could be attributed to the enhanced electronic transfer between TiO 2 and SiO 2 after F modification which greatly affected the acid and base property of loaded TiO 2 . Taking the advantages of facile synthesis and high performance, the as-reported TiO 2 /SiO 2 (B-F)&Pd/Cor catalyst could be a promising alternative for one-pot synthesis of MIBK from acetone.