Near room temperature synthesis of sulfonated carbon nanoplates and their catalytic application

Devarakonda, Damodar and Maity, Sunil Kumar and Varkolu, Mohan and et al, . (2019) Near room temperature synthesis of sulfonated carbon nanoplates and their catalytic application. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. ISSN 2168-0485

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Abstract

We demonstrate a unique one-pot synthesis approach to obtain sulfonated carbon nanoplates having elongated hexagonal morphology (S-ECN). The S-ECN were synthesized by dehydration of recrystallized sucrose and sodium chloride mixed crystals with concentrated sulfuric acid under ambient conditions. No additional heat treatment or elaborate experimental setup was necessary to obtain graphitic carbon nanoplates. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies showed that presence of NaCl and recrystallization conditions played a crucial role in crystal habit modification of sucrose during recrystallization. Consequently, initial morphology of sucrose crystals was largely preserved in resultant carbon nanostructures. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy studies showed that S-ECN were partially graphitic with wider interplanar spacing compared to standard graphite. The elemental analysis (CHNS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic studies confirm the presence of sulfur in the form of –SO3H group. The catalytic performance of the S-ECN was studied for hydroxyalkylation-alkylation (HAA) reaction of 2-methylfuran with furfural to produce C15 oxygenated hydrocarbon. The S-ECN showed up to 90% conversion of 2-methylfuran. Additionally, an empirical kinetic model was developed to obtain rate constant of HAA reaction and to correlate 2-methylfuran conversion under various reaction conditions. The experimental results matched reasonably well with the calculated 2-methylfuran conversion.

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