Reclamation of Acid Pickling Waste: Preparation of Nano α-Fe₂O₃ and Its Catalytic Performance

Abstract

Nano α-Fe 2 O 3 materials with various size and morphology were prepared from acid pickling waste using nonionic surfactant polyethylene glycol (PEG-400) as dispersant and ultrasonic enhancement, as proved by SEM, XRD, TEM, UV-vis and ICP-MS, respectively. The results showed that high purity (96.89%) α-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles were well-crystallized with different size and morphology, mainly including web-like structure linked by about 25 nm spherical particles (Fe-w), nano rod with about 45 nm width diameter (Fe-r) and daylily bud-like materials with 50 nm width leaf (Fe-l). The Fe-w, as well as other nano-sized α-Fe 2 O 3 was found to be very active for benzylation of aromatics by benzyl chloride, exhibiting TOF 35.2 h -1 for anisole, 65.1 h -1 for aniline, 33.3 h -1 for phenol and 1776 h -1 for benzene, respectively.The catalyst could be recycled at least three times without appreciable loss of catalytic activity.

Nano metal oxides as efficient catalysts for selective synthesis of 1-methoxy-2-propanol from methanol and propylene oxide

“…On the other hand, a-Fe 2 O 3 catalysts usually possess redox properties for catalyzing organic synthesis reactions, such as oxidation of toluene, benzylation of benzene and other aromatics etc. 16,17 The redox species in the reaction systems are advantageous for the ring opening reaction of PO. 18 Therefore, the excellent catalytic performance of the a-Fe 2 O 3 catalyst compared with the other metal oxides was ascribed to the surface properties.…”