Silica islands regulated external Ti-site environment of TS-1 for
enhanced performance of 1-hexene epoxidation
Abstract
Rational regulation of local environment of Ti-sites in TS-1 harbours
tremendous industrial and scientific significance to epoxidation
reactions. Herein, we report a facile and environment-friendly strategy
to boost catalytic selectivity by covering the Ti-sites on external
surface of TS-1 (ITS-1) without sacrificing activity of internal Ti
sites. By quantitative analysis of d3-acetonitrile and quinoline-DRIFTS,
1H MAS NMR and XPS, it is found that percentage of external Ti-sites
decreased from 11% to 6% after depositing surface silica islands. This
successfully inhibits ring-opening reaction of 1,2-epoxyhexane on
catalyst surface, as demonstrated by slower kinetic decomposition rate
of 1,2-epoxyhexane. Compared with conventional TS-1 catalyst,
selectivity of 1,2-epoxyhexane over ITS-1 catalyst significantly
increased from 83.5% to 98.5% while maintaining high 1-hexene
conversion. Furthermore, overmuch surface silica coverage only leads to
extremely low conversion (2%) due to inhibition of mass transfer. This
work paves the way for rational construction of Ti-containing catalysts
for 1-hexene epoxidation