Continuous heterogeneous catalytic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols in scCO(2)

Chapman, Adrian O. and Akien, Geoffrey R. and Arrowsmith, Nicholas J. and Licence, Peter and Poliakoff, Martyn (2010) Continuous heterogeneous catalytic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols in scCO(2). Green Chemistry, 12 (2). pp. 310-315. ISSN 1463-9262

Abstract

A miniature catalytic reactor has been developed for the oxidation of alcohols with O-2 in supercritical CO2. Particular attention has been given to ensuring good mixing of O-2 and CO2 prior to contact with the substrate. The reactor was optimised using the oxidation of 2-octanol over 5% Pt + 1% Bi on Al2O3 and the mass balance was measured. The reactor was then evaluated for the oxidation of a series of secondary alcohols, and also the primary alcohol, 1-octanol.