Characterisation of the basicity of modified MgO-catalysts Original Research Article

The modification of magnesium oxide with caesium, barium or yttrium oxide was carried out in order to increase its base strength. The decomposition of 2-butanol and 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol as well as the FTIR investigation of adsorbed acid probe molecules on the catalysts were used as basicity characterisation methods. The Cs/MgO catalyst showed the highest selectivity for the dehydrogenation of 2-butanol, for the formation of 1-butene as well as the highest conversion of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol into acetone and acetylene. The FTIR investigations revealed the strongest basic sites in the case of Cs/MgO, while basic sites stronger than on pure MgO were not detected on Ba/MgO and Y/MgO.