Hydroformylation of 1-hexene over ultrafine cobalt nanoparticle catalysts

Abstract: A new method was developed to fabricate ultrafine cobalt nanoparticles with an average diameter of 2.8nm from large precursory cobalt nanoparticles (around 20nm). The obtained ultrafine nanoparticles have a narrow size distribution and a much higher Co/B ratio than that of precursory cobalt nanoparticles (almost 100 times higher). The 2.8nm cobalt nanoparticles were used to catalyze hydroformylation of 1-hexene and syngas (CO: H2 =1) at 100°C and 2.4MPa, resulting in an average TOF (turnover frequency) of 130h−1. Through the mercury poisoning experiments, it was observed that the presence of Hg (0) can effectively suppress the catalytic activity of the 2.8nm Co nanoparticle catalyst system, demonstrating that a heterogeneous catalysis mechanism was followed in the ultrafine catalyst system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]