A layered titanosilicate AM-4 as a novel catalyst for the synthesis of 1-methoxy-2-propanole from propylene oxide and methanol

In this paper we report for the first time the catalytic properties of the titanosilicate AM-4 in the synthesis of 1-methoxy-2-propanol (PGME) from methanol and propylene oxide (PO). PGME is widely used as a pollution-free solvent and intermediate in the synthesis of propylene glycol methyl ether ac...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Timofeeva, Maria N.; Kurchenko, Julia V.; Kalashnikova, Galina O.; Panchenko, Valentina N.; Nikolaev, Anatoliy I.; Gil Bravo, Antonio
Format: Article
Status:Accepted version
Publication date:2019
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Pública de Navarra
Repository:Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
OAI Identifier:oai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/36711
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2454/36711
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Layered titanosilicate AM-4
Catalytic properties
Basic properties
Acid activation
1-Methoxy-2-propanol
Propylene oxide
Description
Summary:In this paper we report for the first time the catalytic properties of the titanosilicate AM-4 in the synthesis of 1-methoxy-2-propanol (PGME) from methanol and propylene oxide (PO). PGME is widely used as a pollution-free solvent and intermediate in the synthesis of propylene glycol methyl ether acetate, the herbicide metolachlor and in other industrial applications. We found that the catalytic properties of AM-4 could be adjusted by treatment with 0.0625–0.25 M HNO3. Increasing the concentration of HNO3 led to a decrease in basicity, which played a critical role in the reaction rate and the selectivity towards PGME. The yield of PGME decreased with increased acid concentration. The maximum conversion of PO (88.4%) and the selectivity towards PGME (92.3%) were found to be in the presence of AM-4 at 110 °C and 8 mol/mol MeOH/PO. Our results suggest that titanosilicate AM-4 has great potential for application in basic catalysis.