Synthesis of catalytic materials from a natural clay for the valorization of alcohols

Abstract

The study of the oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds is proposed through sustainable catalytic processes, using technologies that point to a low environmental impact, to avoid the generation of
potentially polluting compounds, optimizing the selection of reagents and using heterogeneous catalysts. For this, a low-cost natural clay is used due to its abundance in nature, as a starting point to synthesize materials with good
catalytic properties. Thus, through a pillared process the clays are transformed into solids with high porosity and specific surface, denominating PILC, which can be modified later with metal ions. These materials allow different chemical compounds, such as alcohols, to be transformed efficiently and selectively under mild conditions, to aldehydes, epoxides, etc. These products can be used as intermediaries in the Fine Chemistry industry: obtaining pharmaceutical products, dyes, agrochemicals, plasticizer additives, resins and fragrances.