An atom-economic reaction for synthesis of 1-phenoxy-2-propanol over Al2O3/MgO

Al2O3/MgO materials with various Mg/Al molar ratios were prepared and characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM and BET analysis. These materials were used as catalysts for synthesis of 1-phenoxy-2-propanol (1-PhP) from phenol and propylene oxide as compared with some oxides, i.e. MgO, CaO, ZnO and Al2O3, etc. Al2O3/MgO with Al/Mg molar ratio of 1.5% exhibited outstanding catalytic performance with 98.2% conversion and 99.3% selectivity to 1-PhP at 120 °C for 5 h. This catalyst can be easily recovered and reused due to its heterogeneous catalytic nature.

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► Al2O3/MgO as an effective catalyst.
► Catalyst for atom-economic synthesis of 1-phenoxy-2-propanol.
► Al2O3 supported on promotes catalytic activity.
► The catalytic activity is ascribed to base–acid balance.