Preparation of active MgO by short-time thermal decomposition of Mg(OH)2

• DOI: 10.1007/s11164-015-1971-z
• Publication Date: 2015-03-10T05:23:23Z
• Authors: Michiko Kitagawa; Sayaka Misu; Jun Ichikawa; Hiromi Matsuhashi
• Keywords: Muffle furnace; Crystal (programming language); Thermal Treatment

In the preparation of MgO, Mg(OH)2 was placed in a muffle furnace maintained at a desired temperature for rapid increase to the activation temperature and for short-time heating. The MgO obtained showed a higher activity for the retro-aldol reaction of diacetone alcohol and larger surface area in comparison with that prepared by conventional procedures. Among the prepared catalysts, MgO heated at 673 K for 20 min showed the highest activity. The prepared MgO has a wide and thin plate shape with a small crystal size. The surface area of MgO decreased monotonously with increase in heating time and temperature. Further thermal treatment produced a decrease in catalytic activity. After that, the activity was regenerated by a long-time thermal treatment. The change in crystal morphology and exposed surface crystal plane of MgO by thermal treatment is discussed.