Abstract

Nanosized TiO2catalyst was successfully prepared by a simple green procedure and used in liquid phasealdol condensation of furfural with acetone, a key step in bio-fuel processing. In order to determinethe effect of calcination temperature on catalytic properties of TiO2, the as-prepared TiO2and calcinedTiO2(150–900◦C) were studied by XRD, BET, TPD-CO2/NH3, TGA/DTG and FTIR evaluation. The catalyticperformance of TiO2samples in aldol condensation of furfural with acetone was evaluated and comparedwith that of Mg–Al hydrotalcites and a BEA zeolite. These experiments showed that uncalcined TiO2possessed reasonable activity in aldol condensation of furfural to acetone and resulted in commonlyproduced condensation products. The observed catalytic behavior of TiO2could be competitive withthat reported for other inorganic solids. The calcination of TiO2resulted, however, in a decrease in itscatalytic activity due to extensive dehydration and surface dehydroxylation as well as due to changes oftextural properties resulting in a decrease in the amount of accessible active sites. Thanks to its advancedproperties, nanosized TiO2is a promising catalyst for aldol condensation of furfural with acetone andcould broaden possibilities for optimizing conditions for bio-fuel production.