Interesterification of Glyceryl Trioctanoate Catalyzed by Sulfonic Silica-Based Materials: Insight into the Role of Catalysts on the Reaction Mechanism.

In the present work, the acid-catalyzed interesterification of glyceryl trioctanoate (GTO) with ethyl acetate was investigated as a model reaction for the one-step production of biofuel and its additives. The activity of heterogeneous acid catalysts, such as silica-based propyl-sulfonic ones, was evaluated. Propyl-sulfonic groups were grafted on both amorphous and mesoporous silica oxide (SBA-15, KIT-6) using different functionalization processes and characterized by N adsorpion-desorption isotherm (BET), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and potentiometric titration.

Improved Water-Gas Shift Performance of Au/NiAl LDHs Nanostructured Catalysts via CeO Addition.

Supported gold on co-precipitated nanosized NiAl layered double hydroxides (LDHs) was studied as an effective catalyst for medium-temperature water-gas shift (WGS) reaction, an industrial catalytic process traditionally applied for the reduction in the amount of CO in the synthesis gas and production of pure hydrogen. The motivation of the present study was to improve the performance of the Au/NiAl catalyst via modification by CeO. An innovative approach for the direct deposition of ceria (1, 3 or 5 wt.

Relationship between structure and CO oxidation activity of ceria-supported gold catalysts.

Gold catalysts supported on cerium oxide were prepared by solvated metal atom dispersion (SMAD), by deposition-precipitation (DP), and by coprecipitation (CP) methods and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalytic activity was tested in the CO oxidation reaction. The structural and surface analyses evidenced the presence of a modified ceria phase in the case of the DP sample and the presence of pure ceria and gold metal crystallites in the case of the SMAD and CP samples.