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Synthesis of AgWCN x Nanocomposites for the One‐Step Conversion of Cyclohexene to Adipic Acid and Its Mechanistic Studies
Author(s) -
Goyal Reena,
Sameer Siddharth,
Sarkar Bipul,
Bag Arijit,
Singhal Nikita,
Bordoloi Ankur
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201703111
Subject(s) - adipic acid , cyclohexene , catalysis , mesoporous silica , selectivity , aniline , materials science , nanocomposite , chemical engineering , heterogeneous catalysis , chemistry , organic chemistry , mesoporous material , nanotechnology , engineering
A novel catalyst composed of silver nanoparticles grafted on WCN x has been prepared by using a facile pH‐adjusted method. The material reported in this study presents a non‐mineral acid route for the synthesis of the industrially significant monomer adipic acid through the selective oxidation of cyclohexene. Ag has been stabilized in the hydrophobic matrix during the formation of the mesoporous silica material by using aniline as stabilizing agent. A cyclohexene conversion of 92.2 % with 96.2 % selectivity for adipic acid was observed with the AgWCN x ‐2 catalyst, therefore, the AgWCN x catalyst was found to be efficient for the direct conversion to adipic acid with respect to their monometallic counterparts. The energy profile diagrams for each reaction path by using the AgWCN x catalyst were studied along with their monometallic counterparts by using the Gaussian 09 package. The reported material can avoid the use of harmful phase‐transfer catalysts (PTC) and/or chlorinated additives, which are two among other benefits of the reported work.