Study of the Catalytic Activity of the Compounds Hydrotalcite Type Treated by Microwave in the Self-Condensation of Acetone

The self-condensation reaction of acetone, producing diacetone alcohol (DAA), is of great industrial importance. It was used to study the catalytic activity of Mg-Al catalysts synthesized by the coprecipitation method. For this purpose, we synthesized Mg-Al based hydrotalcite with a molar ratio of 3, obtained either after conventional heating or after microwave irradiation with of 100 W for three minutes. Structural and chemical properties of the obtained catalysts were characterized, using different techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), equipped with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and specific surface area of the catalysts were determined by the methylene blue (MB) adsorption method. Also, these catalysts were tested in the self-condensation reaction of acetone at 273 K in the liquid phase without solvent, a reaction which requires very high catalytic activity. The microwave treatment improves the catalyst activity, and the conversion of acetone to diacetone alcohol increases from 13.2 to 18.3% after 8 h of reaction. Moreover, the microwave-treated hydrotalcite catalyst, calcined at 723 K and rehydrated under a flow of N(2), is the most active and gives conversion of acetone of 52% under the same reaction conditions.