Synthesis of Acetonitrile from Ethanol Dehydroamination Over La-Modified Co/Al 2 O 3 Catalyst

Synthesis of acetonitrile (ACN) by way of ethanol dehydroamination process was performed over copper-, zinc-, nickel- and cobalt-based catalysts in a fixed-bed reactor, by which 20Co/Al2O3 was found to be the best one and ready for subsequent La doping. Catalytic test and a series of characterizations such as XRD, XPS, TEM, TG-DTA, IGA, NH3-TPD and N2 adsorption-desorption were carried out to investigate the catalytic performance and the promoting effect of La-doped 20Co/Al2O3, respectively. The results demonstrate that the addition of La leads to the higher surface area and adsorption rate of ACN over La-doped 20Co/Al2O3 sample as well as better resistance to carbon deposition. As a result, a highly selective synthesis of ACN with excellent catalytic stability was obtained from ethanol dehydroamination over La-doped 20Co/Al2O3 catalyst. Especially, the formation of ethylamine (EA) can be suppressed in the presence of La promoter, which is very helpful for enhancing the ACN selectivity.