Cascade aldol condensation of an aldehyde via the aerobic oxidation of ethanol over an Au/NiO composite

Synthesis of liquid biofuels (C(11)–C(13)) from cellulosic ethanol is regarded as a promising and versatile protocol. In this study, oxide-supported nanogold catalysts exhibit good catalytic performance in ethanol conversion with cinnamaldehyde and finally give rise to the C(11)–C(13) hydrocarbon. High selectivity (70%) for C(11)–C(13) hydrocarbons is achieved over Au/NiO via a one-pot cascade reaction, viz. cross-aldol condensations in the presence of oxygen and base (K(2)CO(3)) and then full hydrodeoxygenation with hydrogen gas. EtOH-TPD and TGA analyses show that the ethanol is activated to acetaldehyde (CH(3)CHO*) over the surface oxygen vacancies of the NiO support. The CH(3)CHO* then reacts with cinnamaldehyde at the interfacial perimeter of the Au/NiO composite during the cascade reactions, as evidenced by comparison of the catalytic performance with that over another oxide-supported Au NP, chemo-adsorption investigations, and in situ infrared spectroscopy investigations. This work may provide new guidelines for designing efficient catalysts to convert bioethanol into biofuels with high energy density.