Synthesis, characterization and application of the SBA-16 catalyst modified with titanium(IV) chloride in the eugenol isomerization

Abstract In this work the application of Ti-SBA-16 catalysts for eugenol isomerization is described for the first time. These materials were produced by the impregnation method using titanium(IV) chloride acetone solutions. The Ti-SBA-16 catalysts were characterized by means of the following instrumental methods: N2 adsorption at 77 K, XRD, UV, SEM, X-ray microanalysis, and sorption studies. Ti-SBA-16 is a stable material and has it has been shown that no deterioration of the catalyst will occur during the reaction and thus the liquid environment will not be contaminated. It was shown that catalysts with the highest titanium content were more active in the eugenol isomerization process. The highest activity, with regards to the eugenol conversion, was for the Ti-SBA-16 catalyst containing 22.28 wt% of titanium. In addition, we present non-solvent heterogeneous catalysis for this process under atmospheric pressure. The main products of the isomerization reaction were cis- and trans-isoeugenol, while the latter isomer had the higher selectivity.