Nanostructured composite TiO2/carbon catalysts of high activity for dehydration of n-butanol

A novel method of wood impregnation with titanium ions is presented. Titanium(IV) ions were complexed to peroxo/hydroxo complexes which were obtained by treating a TiCl4 water solution with H2O2. The solution of chelated titanium ions was used for the impregnation of living stems of Salix viminalis wood. Saturated stems were carbonized at 600-800 °C, yielding a microporous carbon matrix, in which nanoparticles of TiO2 were uniformly distributed. A series of composite TiO2-carbon catalysts was manufactured and tested in the process of n-butanol conversion to butane-1. The composite catalysts exhibited very high selectivity (ca. 80%) and yield (ca. 30%) despite a low content of titanium (ca. 0.5% atomic). The research proved that the proposed functionalization led to high dispersion of the catalytic phase (TiO2), which played a crucial role in the catalyst performance. High dispersion of TiO2 was achieved due to a natural transport of complexed titanium ions in living plant stems.