My MSc Research

Ruthenium and Amine Modified Rice Husk and Its Role in the Oxidation of 1-Butanol

RH-Ru and RH-Ru-A (incorporated with 5% 4-(methylamino)benzoic acid were synthesized from rice husk via solvent extraction and sol-gel technique. XRD spectrogram showed both catalysts were amorphous. BET results showed that the surface area of RH-Ru-A (73.9 m2 g-1) was smaller  compared  with  RH-Ru   (138 m2 g-1). After calcinations at 700 °C, RH-Ru-700 and RH-Ru-A-700 showed smaller area, 21.8 m2 g-1 and 19.0 m2 g-1respectively. According to SEM microgram RH-Ru-700 showed the presence of nano fibers. EDX results revealed the presence of ruthenium in the silica matrix. RH-Ru and RH-Ru-A were used as catalyst for the oxidation of 1-butanol into 1-butanal. The reaction does not involve any solvent and only oxygen was used as an oxidant. Although the yield of 1-butanal was less than 10% both catalyst have great potential for the oxidation of primary alcohols into aldehydes.

From my Msc project, USM