Carboxylate Modifier Controls the Selectivity for MnOx Catalyst

Recently, a research group led by Prof. XU Jie from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported a green modified manganese oxide surface with carboxylates. It could tune the selectivity of ammoxidation toward the desired products. Their results were published in Nature Communications.

Achieving the selectivity-tunable aerobic ammoxidation of hydroxyaldehyde by an organic carboxylic acid-modified MnOx catalyst. (Image by JIA Xiuquan)

Nitriles are key compounds for the synthesis of materials like polyamides, which are widely used in chemical industry. They are traditionally produced from fossil resources.

Biomass as a renewable resource provides the next generation feedstocks for the synthesis of biomass-based nitriles. However, precisely controlling the reaction selectivity remains a challenge.

Researchers focused on the design and the preparation of organic modified catalysts and their applications in oxidation reactions. In this work, researchers showed that the green modification of the manganese oxide surface with carboxylates could be used to tune the ammoxidation selectivity toward the desired products.

For example, the ammoxidation conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over manganese oxide catalyst usually afforded the derivatives of 2,5-dicyanofuan. A green modified manganese oxide catalyst surface with carboxylates improved the ammoxidation selectivity for hydroxynitrile to 92%.

The self-assembled modification of metal oxides can potentially serve as a complement to recent efforts aimed at controlling the selectivity of oxidation and ammoxidation reactions. (Text by JIA Xiuquan)