Nano lanthanum aluminates synthesized by sol-gel method were used for the liquid phase benzylation of o-xylene (oXyl) with benzyl chloride (BC) in a batch reactor at atmospheric pressure. Lanthanum aluminates were characterized in depth by Differential thermo gravimetric analysis (DTG), Differential scanning calorimetric analysis (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), N2 sorpometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), temperatureprogrammed desorption using CO2/NH3 (CO2-TPD/NH3-TPD) and temperature-programmed reduction using H2 (H2-TPR) in order to relate its performances to the chemical and textural characteristics. Nano La10Al4O21 was detected for lower aluminum precursor concentration and stable nano mesoporous LaAlO3 becomes the major phase as the concentration increases. The band gap of LaAlO3 and La10Al4O21 was estimated from ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry. Ac conductivity and dielectric measurement of lanthanum aluminates were also performed. The effect of catalyst concentration, reaction temperature, reaction time and o-Xyl/BC molar ratio on benzylation of o-Xyl was studied over stable nano mesoporous LaAlO3 and was extended to nano La10Al4O21 at the optimized conditions. LaAlO3 showed 92% and La10Al4O21 showed 51% BC conversion at the following reaction conditions (catalyst to BC (w/w) = 0.1, o-Xyl/BC molar ratio =1:1, 433K, 2h, 1 atm). The acidity and mesoporous structure of LaAlO3 appeared to be responsible for its good performance. Increase in catalyst concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time enhances the conversion of BC, whereas it decreases with the increase in o-Xyl/BC molar ratio. The Friedel-Crafts (FC) benzylation reaction mechanism involves the formation of an electrophile (C6H5CH2 + ) over an acidic lanthanum aluminate catalyst which attacks the O-Xyl ring resulting in the formation of 3,4 -dimethyl diphenyl methane.
Nano sized oxide materials have gained an immense importance due to their unque electrical and magnetic properties. Nano Lanthana has various applications in solide oxide fuel cells, catalytic exhaust gas converters, magnetic data storage, water treatment and also as a nano catalyst. The performance of the nano Lanthana depends on the particle size, morphology, crystalline nature etc which in tern depends on the method of preparation and pre-treatment conditions. In this study nano Lanthana was prepared by using the natural polymer Starch as the template. The effect of reaction condition and concentration of starch on the formation, particle size, crystalline nature, and morphology of nano lanthana was also investigated. The phase composition, crystallinine character and particle size were obtained from XRD. The surface morphology of the prepared sample was investigated by SEM. Elemental analysis using SEM-EDAX confirmed the stochiometry of the sample. .
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