Enhanced activity of microwave-activated CoOx/MOR catalyst for the epoxidation of α-pinene with air

CoO x species is firstly introduced onto MOR (Mordenite) by impregnation with microwave heating to catalyze the epoxidation of α-pinene with air. The obtained samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, FTIR, SEM, TEM, BET surface area, porosity by N 2 adsorption. 7%CoO x /MOR catalyst exhibits remarkably higher activity and selectivity in the epoxidation of α-pinene than that prepared by traditional heating impregnation. The epoxidation conversion of α-pinene over 7%CoO x /MOR prepared by microwave heating reaches 92.7 mol% in 4 h at 90 °C, which is nearly 1.5 times that of the catalyst by traditional impregnation. This is due to the fact that CoO x nanoparticles are produced by microwave heating and uniformly dispersed on MOR.