Nanostructured composite TiO₂/carbon catalysts of high activity for dehydration of n-butanol

Highlights: • New biotechnological method for fabrication of composite catalysts. • In situ synthesis of nanosized TiO₂ clusters in the carbon matrix. • High dispersion of TiO₂ in carbon matrix. • High catalytic activity achieved for very low active phase content. • Efficient dehydration of n-butanol to butane-1. - Abstract: A novel method of wood impregnation with titanium ions is presented. Titanium(IV) ions were complexed to peroxo/hydroxo complexes which were obtained by treating a TiCl₄ water solution with H₂O₂. The solution of chelated titanium ions was used for the impregnation of living stems of Salix viminalis wood. Saturated stems were carbonized at 600–800 °C, yielding a microporous carbon matrix, in which nanoparticles of TiO₂ were uniformly distributed. A series of composite TiO₂–carbon catalysts was manufactured and tested in the process of n-butanol conversion to butane-1. The composite catalysts exhibited very high selectivity (ca. 80%) and yield (ca. 30%) despite a low content of titanium (ca. 0.5% atomic). The research proved that the proposed functionalization led to high dispersion of the catalytic phase (TiO₂), which played a crucial role in the catalyst performance. High dispersion of TiO₂ was achieved due to a natural transport of complexed titanium ions in living plant stems