Silica supported ceria and ceria-zirconia nanocomposite oxides for selective dehydration of 4-methylpentan-2-ol

The conversion of 4-methylpentan-2-ol to 4-methylpent-1-ene is improved to a greater extent after zirconia incorporation to CeO2/SiO2 catalyst. Characterization by XRD, Raman, HRTEM and BET surface area techniques reveal that SiO2 as an inert support greatly enhances the surface area and stabilizes the nanocrystallites of the active oxides.