Sulfonated graphene oxide supported Pd bifunctional catalyst for one-pot synthesis of methyl isobutyl ketone from acetone with high conversion and selectivity

•An bifunctional catalyst in the synthesis of MIBK from acetone was developed.•The catalyst was composed of physically mixed SGO/Cor and Pd/Cor.•The catalyst exhibited 86% MIBK selectivity at 65% acetone conversion.Abstract integration of acid and hydrogenation active sites in one catalyst is crucial for facile, low-cost synthesis of methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) from acetone. In the present work, a high-performance bifunctional catalyst for the MIBK reaction was synthesized by physically mixing sulfonated graphene oxide (SGO) with Pd/cordierite. The SGO not only acts as support for active Pd, but also provides efficient acid site. The as-synthesized SGO-Pd/cordierite catalyst exhibited 86% MIBK selectivity at 65% acetone conversion, which is the highest demonstrated so far.

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