Dehydration of Glycerin to Acrolein Over H3PW12O40 Catalyst Supported on Mesoporous Titania

H3PW12O40 catalysts supported on mesoporous titania (XH3PW12O40/MT (X = 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30)) were prepared with a variation of H3PW12O40 content (X, wt%), and they were applied to the dehydration of glycerin to acrolein. The prepared catalysts were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, N-2 adsorption-desorption, and pyridine-adsorbed in-situ FT-IR spectroscopy analyses. The effect of H3PW12O40 content on the physicochemical properties and catalytic activities of XH3PW12O40/MT catalysts was investigated. It was found that surface area and pore volume of XH3PW12O40/MT catalysts decreased with increasing H3PW12O40 content. Bronsted acidity of Xv/MT catalysts showed a volcano-shaped trend with respect to H3PW12O40 content. The catalytic performance of XH3PW12O40/MT catalysts was closely related to the Bronsted acidity of the catalysts. It was revealed that yield for acrolein over XH3PW12O40/MT catalysts increased with increasing Bronsted acidity of the catalysts. Among the catalysts tested, 20H(3)PW(12)O(40)/MT catalyst with the largest Bronsted acidity showed the highest yield for acrolein.