Liquid–liquid equilibrium (LLE) data for the ternary system water + ethylbenzene + acetophenone and water + ethylbenzene + 1-phenylethanol were determined at temperatures T = (298.2, 308.2, 318.2, and 328.2) K and atmospheric pressure. The immiscibility region was found to be relatively small and not sensitive to the change of temperature. The Othmer–Tobias and the Bachman correlations were used to test the consistency of the LLE data. The experimental data were correlated by both the nonrandom two-liquid and the universal quasichemical activity coefficient models. The relevant model interaction parameters were regressed by data fitting. The model correlated results show good agreement with the measured data. The obtained interaction parameters can be used in the calculation of LLE for the ternary system water + ethylbenzene + acetophenone and water + ethylbenzene +1-phenylethanol as well as for the design and optimization of the related separation process.
Zeolite-encapsulated metal nanoparticle systems have exhibited interesting catalytic performances via the hydrogen spillover process, yet how to further utilize the function of zeolite supports to promote catalytic properties in such a process is still challenging and has rarely been investigated. Herein, to address this issue, the strategy to strengthen the adsorption energy of reactant onto the zeolite surface via a simple ion exchange method has been implemented. Ion-exchanged linde type A (LTA) zeolite-encapsulated platinum nanoclusters (Pt@NaA, Pt@HA, Pt@KA, and Pt@CaA) were prepared to study the influence of ion exchange on the catalytic performance in the model reaction of hydrogenation of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol. The reaction results showed that the Pt@CaA catalyst exhibited the best catalytic activity in the series of encapsulated catalysts, and the selectivity of 1-phenylethanol approached 100%. As revealed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and acetophenone temperature-programmed desorption (acetophenone-TPD) experiments, in comparison with introduced cations of Na+, H+, and K+, ion-exchanged Ca2+ on the zeolite maximumly enhanced the adsorption of carbonyl groups in acetophenone, playing a critical role in achieving the highest activity and excellent catalytic selectivity among the Pt@A catalysts.