Applied Catalysis A: General, Vol.239, No.1-2, 279-286, 2003
Cyclopropanation on a highly active heterogeneous catalyst: CuO/TiO2-Al2O3
Some heterogeneous catalysts, cupric oxide supported on different supports, were prepared and employed to catalyze the cyclopropanation of styrene and 2,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexadiene with ethyl diazoacetate (EDA). The catalytic performance for cyclopropanation strongly depends on the nature of the support. A novel catalyst, CUO/TiO2-Al2O3, in which Al2O3 is modified with a monolayer TiO2, is found to be most active and selective for the cyclopropanation reaction. The yields of 93 and 94% cyclopropanes are obtained for styrene and 2,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexadiene at 40 degreesC as the substrates, respectively. The activity and selectivity in cyclopropanes are optimized with a monolayer dispersion of cupric oxide on the corresponding supports.
Keywords:styrene;2,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexadiene;cyclopropanation;heterogeneous catalysts;CuO/TiO2-al(2)O(3)