A surfactant-mediated Ni/MgAl bifunctional catalyst for highly selective tandem conversion of acetone to methyl...

Highly efficient conversion of acetone to methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) remains a challenging task due to the complicated reaction pathways. Herein, a surfactant-assisted impregnation strategy was developed to modify Ni/MgAl catalysts for acetone conversion. Interestingly, the introduction of surfactants can effectively modulate the catalyst acidity and basicity, thereby blocking the reaction pathway, leading to the isophorone by-product. Moreover, a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) modified catalyst (Ni/MgAl-SDS) exhibited a Ni²⁺-doped solid solution structure, as well as the conventional impregnated Ni/MgAl catalyst, while a sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) modified catalyst (Ni/MgAl-SDBS) generated highly dispersed metallic nanoparticles with coexisting Ni⁰/Ni²⁺ species. This unique structure efficiently drove the hydrogenation of a mesityl oxide intermediate, achieving a high MIBK selectivity of 94.5% in the acetone conversion process. This strategy provides a novel approach for the synergistic regulation of the metal state, acidity and basicity in tandem reactions.