Preparation of Ni-IL/SiO2 and its catalytic performance for one-pot sequential synthesis of 2-propylheptanol from n-valeraldehyde

A novel silica-immobilized nickel and acid ionic liquid (Ni-IL/SiO2) catalyst was prepared by combining a bonding procedure with an impregnation operation and was characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. Its catalytic performance was evaluated for the one-pot synthesis of 2-propylheptanol (2-PH) via a sequential n-valeraldehyde self-condensation and hydrogenation reaction. As a result, Ni-IL/SiO2 showed an excellent catalytic activity for the one-pot synthesis of 2-PH, affording a 2-PH selectivity of 75.4% at a n-valeraldehyde conversion of 100% and the sum of 2-PH and pentanol selectivity reached 98.6% under the suitable reaction conditions.