Synthesis of Mesoporous Cerium Oxide (CeO2) Nanoparticles and Effect of Cerium Precursors on Transamidation of Acetamide with N-Octylamine Under Solvent-Free Conditions

摘要

Mesoporous cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles act as an effective heterogeneous catalyst for the transamidation reaction of amides with amines. The mesoporous CeO2 nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal method using different cerium precursor such as: cerium(III) chloride heptahydrate [CeCl3 center dot 7H(2)O], cerium nitrate hexahydrate [Ce(NO3)(3)center dot 6H(2)O], ceric ammonium nitrate [(NH4)(2)Ce(NO3)(6)], and cerium(III) acetate [Ce(C2H3O2)(3)center dot 1.5H(2)O]. It shows highest catalytic activity for transamidation of acetamide with N-octylamine under solvent free conditions. This is the first example of a heterogeneous catalyst for transamidation using aliphatic amines as substrates. The X-ray diffraction, BET surface area analysis, and FT-IR characterizations of CeO2 suggested its excellent catalytic activity for transamidation reaction.