Titanium phosphonate-supported palladium catalyst for the hydrogenation of acetophenone with one-phase catalysis and two-phase separation Original Research Article

A novel inorganic polymer titanium 2-[N-(2-hydroxy-1,2-diphenylethyl)]aminoethylphosphate (TiP) and its supported palladium complex (TiP–Pd) had been synthesized and characterized by IR, XPS, XRD, TG, SEM and TEM. The catalyst TiP–Pd was applied to the catalytic hydrogenation of acetophenone in homogeneous ethanol phase and can be conveniently recovered with above 97% recovery by adding equal volume of petroleum ether. In the catalytic hydrogenation of acetophenone, the selectivities to 1-phenylethanol and ethylbenzene was up to 93.3% at −20 °C and 100% at −20 to 40 °C, respectively under atmospheric hydrogen pressure. The catalyst TiP–Pd can be reused 11 times without the leaching of palladium ion and the sharp loss of catalytic activity.