Pickering Assisted Catalysis for Selective Synthesis of Benzalacetones
摘要
Pickering emulsions belong to the class of dispersion systems of two immiscible liquids stabilized by solid particles. The stability of such emulsions is affected by several parameters such as the method of emulsification, oil–water ratio, size, shape and amount of solid particles. In this study, rod-shaped MgO particles were prepared and characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, DLS and CO2-TPD techniques. The as-prepared MgO particles were utilized in the Pickering-assisted catalytic system for the condensation of acetone with benzaldehyde and its derivatives. The compartmentalization of benzalacetone within oil droplets prevented further condensation resulting in high selectivity. The effect of the amount of MgO particles and various oil phases on the catalytic activity was studied. The synthetic utility of the system is demonstrated for gram-scale synthesis. The MgO-stabilized Pickering emulsion catalytic system was found to be reusable for at least five reaction cycles without any considerable loss in catalytic activity.
Graphical Abstract