Synthesis, characterisation and behaviour of Co/hydroxyapatite catalysts in the oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethane

•Series of cobalt supported on hydroxyapatite catalysts are synthesised and characterised.•Three types of cobalt species are detected in the prepared catalysts.•The Co catalysts have been successfully tested in the oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethane.•The Co(x)/hydroxyapatite catalysts achieve higher activity compared to bulk Co3O4.•The distribution of Co species plays a decisive role in the activity and selectivity.

Calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (HAP) loaded with different amounts of cobalt are synthesised and characterised by several techniques including N2 physisorption, XRD, TEM, H2-TPR, UV–vis-NIR DRS, XPS spectroscopy and volumetric adsorption of CO2 and NH3 molecules techniques. The Co(x)/HAP catalysts are tested in the oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethane. Due to significant enhancement of the textural and structural properties the resulting Co/hydroxyapatite catalysts achieve higher activity compared to bulk Co3O4 catalyst confirming the advantage of dispersing cobalt on a relatively high surface area HAP. Hydroxyapatite support shows a high selectivity towards intermediate reaction products; but its activity suffers a significant decay with time due to chlorination. However, high stability and high selectivity towards deep oxidation products are favoured by Co-rich catalysts.

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