Aldol Condensations Over Reconstructed Mg-Al Hydrotalcites: Structure-Activity Relationships Related to the Rehydration Method

Two different rehydration procedures in the liquid or gas phase have been applied to reconstruct mixed oxides derived from calcined hydrotalcite-like materials to be used as catalysts for aldol condensation reactions. The as-synthesized hydrotalcite, its decomposition product, as well as the reconstructed solids upon rehydration were characterized by XRD, N(2) adsorption, He pycnometry, FTIR, SEM, TEM, (27)Al MAS-NMR and CO(2)-TPD (TPD=temperature-programmed desorption). Compared to the Mg-Al mixed oxide rehydrated in the gas phase (HT-rg), that rehydrated in the liquid phase (HT-rl) exhibits a superior catalytic performance with respect to the aldol condensation of citral with ketones to yield pseudoionones and in the self-aldolization of acetone. The textural properties of HT-rl and HT-rg differ strongly and determine the catalytic behavior. A memory effect led to a higher degree of reconstruction of the lamellar structure when the mixed oxide was rehydrated in the gas phase rather than in the liquid phase, although liquid-phase rehydration under fast stirring produced a surface area that was 26 times greater. This contrasts to typical statements in the literature claiming a higher degree of reconstruction in the presence of large amounts of water in the medium. CO(2)-TPD shows that the number of OH(-) groups and their nature are very similar in HT-rg and HT-rl, and cannot explain the markedly different catalytic behavior. Accordingly, only a small fraction of the available basic sites in the rehydrated samples is active in liquid-phase aldol condensations. Our results support the model in which only basic sites near the edges of the hydrotalcite platelets are partaking in aldol reactions. Based on this, reconstructed materials with small crystallites (produced by exfoliation during mechanical stirring), that is, possessing a high external surface area, are beneficial in the reactions compared to larger crystals with a high degree of intraplatelet porosity.

The thermal decomposition of Mg-Al hydrotalcites: effects of interlayer anions and characteristics of the final structure

The thermal decomposition of hydrotalcites (HTs) with different interlayer anions in the 298-523 K region has been investigated by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and IR, 27Al MAS-NMR and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. The thermal stability of the HT with interlayer oxalate was remarkably higher than that of HTs with interlayer carbonate; the onset temperatures for decomposition were 523 K and 473 K, respectively. It is proposed that the basicity of the interlayer anion is the key factor in the onset of dehydroxylation of the brucite-like layers: the lower the basicity, the more thermally stable the HT compound. After heat treatment at 723 K, small Mg(Al)O domains (approximately 5 nm) within the HT crystallites cause broadening of the XRD reflections. The electron diffraction pattern consists of spots and rings, due to nonrandomly oriented crystalline material. Formation of disordered bonds, caused by nonideal packing between the decomposing adjacent cation layers in the (111) direction, could explain the expanded d value in the resulting MgO-like phase observed with XRD and electron diffraction. The orientation of the Mg(Al)O domains in the heat-treated material may be crucial for the so-called "memory effect" of HTs.