Dehydration of lactic acid to acrylic acid over lanthanum phosphate catalysts: the role of Lewis acid sites

Lanthanum phosphate (LaP) nano-rods were synthesized using n-butylamine as a shape-directing agent (SDA). The resulting catalysts were applied in the dehydration of lactic acid to acrylic acid. Aiming to understand the nature of the active sites, the chemical and physical properties of LaP materials were studied using a variety of characterization techniques. This study showed that the SDA not only affected the porosity of the LaP materials but also modified the acid–base properties. Clearly, the modification of the acid–base properties played a more critical role in determining the catalytic performance than porosity. An optimized catalytic performance was obtained on the LaP catalyst with a higher concentration of Lewis acid sites. Basic sites showed negative effects on the stability of the catalysts. Good stability was achieved when the catalyst was prepared using the appropriate SDA/La ratio.