An efficient solid base catalyst from coal combustion fly ash for green synthesis of dibenzylideneacetone

• An efficient solid base catalyst (SBC) was produced from waste coal combustion fly ash.
• The synthesized SBC exhibits excellent catalytic activity and stability for dibenzylideneacetone (DBA) synthesis.
• DBA was synthesized by solvent free crossed aldol condensation of acetone with benzaldehyde.

The objective of the investigation was to evaluate the catalytic efficiency of a solid base catalyst (SBC) derived from coal combustion fly ash to synthesize dibenzylideneacetone (DBA, 94% yield). The catalyst was produced using potassium hydroxide (30 wt.%) on thermally activated F-type fly ash. The physico-chemical, mineralogical and morphological characterization of the fly ash and catalyst were performed using XRF, FT-IR, BET surface area analyser, XRD and SEM-EDS. The results of such analysis revealed that the catalyst obtained was associated with strong basic hydroxyl (OH) sites that were highly suited to produce DBA by crossed aldol condensation reaction.

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