Synthesis of Acetonitrile from Ethanol Dehydroamination over a La-Modified Co/Al2O3 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, Ce, and Pr doping. Then, catalytic tests and a series of characterizations such as XRD, XRF, XPS, TEM, TG-DTA, IGA, NH3-TPD, and N2 adsorption–desorption were carried out. The results demonstrate that rare-earth-modified 20Co/Al2O3 catalysts have improved the catalytic performance for ethanol dehydroamination remarkably; the addition of La leads to better dispersion of cobalt species, the higher surface area of 20Co/Al2O3 catalyst, and fast adsorption for ACN, as well as better resistance to carbon deposition. In the meantime, the La-doped catalyst seems to prefer the route of acetaldehyde imine to ACN rather than to ethylamine, and consequently, a highly selective synthesis of ACN with excellent catalytic stability was obtained with the formation of ethylamine being suppressed..