Oxidation of hydrocarbons with H2O2 using nanocatalysts based on Al2O3 and Ga2O3

• Grant number: 13/02072-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: May 01, 2013
• End date: July 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Dalmo Mandelli
• Grantee: Raquel Vieira Busto
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The oxidation of organic compounds has been widely studied in recent decades and is one of the most attractive areas of study in the modern chemistry. This kind of reaction leads to obtain products of wide applicability in the pharmaceutical industry, plastics and fragrances, such as alcohols, ketones, epoxides. Therefore, various studies have been conducted to develop new active and selective catalysts which also possess relatively low toxicity and cost, in order to achieve processes which lead to increasingly smaller amount of byproducts and reaction residues, within the context of green chemistry. Thus, the preferential oxidants for such processes are molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide, because it does not generate toxic byproducts. This work aims to study the oxidation of hydrocarbons with hydrogen peroxide and catalysts based on aluminum and gallium. These will be used in the form of nanoparticles or materials with porosity on the nanometer scale in order to maximize their surface areas. (AU)