Synthesis, Characterization and Catalytic application of Barium modified Zirconia nanoparticle for the synthesis of â-Nitro alcohols

Abstract

A series of barium modified zirconia nanoparticles were synthesized and evaluated for their catalytic activity for base catalyzed synthesis of â-nitro alcohol. The barium modified zirconia particles were synthesized by surface exchange reaction of zirconia with barium salt precursor. In order to study the effect of functionality and particle size of the zirconia particles on barium retention, zirconia samples were synthesized using five different methods namely combustion, amorphous citrate, precipitation, urea hydrolysis and evapouration induced self-assembly method. The zirconia samples contain both monoclinic and tetragonal phases. The relative content of the two phases depends strongly on the preparative procedure used. Highest tetragonal percentage was observed for the zirconia materials synthesized using amorphous citrate precursor route. The crystallite size of the synthesized zirconia was calculated using Fourier analysis of the broadened XRD profile of the zirconia samples. The urea hydrolysis method and the amorphous citrate methods are particularly effective for preparation of small nanosize zirconia particles. The XRD study of the Ba modified zirconia revealed the presence of barium zirconate and barium carbonate crystallographic phases along with the monoclinic and tetragonal form of zirconia. Growth of small particles over the surface of zirconia was observed in the barium modified sample from FESEM study. The barium modified zirconia particles were used as efficient base catalysts for synthesis of â-nitro alcohol by condensation of aryl aldehydes with nitromethane. The barium modified zirconia material was found to be active for the synthesis yielding a variety of â-nitro alcohol with good yield and purity.