Cyclohexanol dehydrogenation over Cu-loaded TiO2 photocatalyst under solar illumination

The liquid-phase selective dehydrogenation of cyclohexanol has been investigated using two classes of catalyst containing either Cu2O or CuO on TiO2 under solar light in deaerated conditions at room temperature using acetonitrile medium in a batch reactor. The effect on dehydrogenation of three conditions, cyclohexanol concentration, copper loading on TiO2, and amount of catalyst, were investigated. The maximum yield of cyclohexanone obtained was 40%. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, UV-DRS, TEM, SEM-EDAX, and XPS. It was found that 1% (w/w) Cu2O/TiO2 was 100% selective for photocatalytic dehydrogenation of cyclohexanol.