Facile synthesis of highly basic, nanocrystalline FeO-NiO composites as promising and durable catalysts for selective dehydrogenation of 2-butanol.

Nanocrystalline FeO-NiO composite catalysts were prepared using a sonication-assisted green preparation method. The prepared catalysts were characterized using different techniques, including thermal analyses (TGA/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, surface area measurements (S), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The surface basicity of the prepared catalysts was measured using the temperature-programmed desorption of CO (CO-TPD) as a highly acidic probe molecule.