a b s t r a c t Nanosized TiO 2 catalyst was successfully prepared by a simple green procedure and used in liquid phase aldol condensation of furfural with acetone, a key step in bio-fuel processing. In order to determine the effect of calcination temperature on catalytic properties of TiO 2 , the as-prepared TiO 2 and calcined TiO 2 (150-900• C) were studied by XRD, BET, TPD-CO 2 /NH 3 , TGA/DTG and FTIR evaluation. The catalytic performance of TiO 2 samples in aldol condensation of furfural with acetone was evaluated and compared with that of Mg-Al hydrotalcites and a BEA zeolite. These experiments showed that uncalcined TiO 2 possessed reasonable activity in aldol condensation of furfural to acetone and resulted in commonly produced condensation products. The observed catalytic behavior of TiO 2 could be competitive with that reported for other inorganic solids. The calcination of TiO 2 resulted, however, in a decrease in its catalytic activity due to extensive dehydration and surface dehydroxylation as well as due to changes of textural properties resulting in a decrease in the amount of accessible active sites. Thanks to its advanced properties, nanosized TiO 2 is a promising catalyst for aldol condensation of furfural with acetone and could broaden possibilities for optimizing conditions for bio-fuel production.

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