Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2014, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (3): 437-443.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(14)60008-5

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La(OH)3 and La2O2CO3 nanorod catalysts for Claisen-Schmidt condensation

Fei Wang, Na Ta, Yong Li, Wenjie Shen   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, Liaoning, China
  • Received:2013-11-09 Revised:2013-12-23 Online:2014-02-26 Published:2014-02-26
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (20923001, 21025312) and the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2013CB933100).

Abstract:

La(OH)3 nanorods of 15 nm diameter and up to 700 nm long were synthesized using different pH values of the solution used in the hydrothermal synthesis. A more alkaline solution favored the formation of tiny La(OH)3 nuclei, which grew along the c-axis due to their anisotropic nature and led to the formation of rod-shaped crystals. Calcination of the La(OH)3 nanorods at 773 K gave La2O2CO3 nanorods. Their basic properties were correlated with their size. As the aspect ratio increased from 2 to 20, the basic sites increased from 0.08 to 0.24 mmol/g, which was due to a higher exposure of (110) planes. In the catalysis of the condensation reaction of benzaldehyde with acetophenone, the reaction rate was correlated with the number of La3+-O2- pairs on the exposed (110) facets of the La2O2CO3 nanorods.

Key words: La(OH)3, La2O2CO3, Nanorod, Crystal facet, Basicity, Claisen-Schmidt condensation