Activity of silylated titanosilicate supported gold nanoparticles towards direct propylene epoxidation reaction in the presence of trimethylamine

Propylene epoxidation is an important reaction as propylene epoxide (PO) has a versatile application for synthesizing various industrially important compounds. Despite of high catalyst activity of Au/Ti–SiO2 catalyst after silylation, the catalyst deactivation, poor regeneration and more hydrogen conversion has put a major hurdle to optimize the catalyst performance in the commercial level. Addition of contaminant level trimethylamine (TMA) could improve the catalyst performance in terms of deactivation, regeneration and hydrogen conversion. In this study we have characterized silylated Au/Ti–SiO2 catalyst by in situ UV–vis–NIR, BET S.A, XPS and XAFS technique. The catalytic activity was checked for direct propylene epoxidation reaction in presence of trimethylamine (TMA). An explanation behind the reason of better performance of the catalyst after silylation was found in this study.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (60 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Stable silylated mesoporous titanosilicate with high catalytic activity. ► Surface enrichment of gold species after silylation. ► Controlled deactivation of silylated catalyst in presence of trimethylamine during pretreatment and co-feed.