Magnetic Carbon Nanofiber Networks as Support for Ionic Liquid Based Catalyst

In this work, the ionic liquid (IL) 1-hexyl-3-methyl-imidazolium bromide (HMIm.Br) containing Pd suspended nanoparticles was supported on a nanostructured magnetically recoverable carbon nanofiber network. The magnetic material was prepared by a simple reaction of ethanol directly with a nanostructured hematite. SEM, XRD, Mossbauer, Raman, TG/DTA, BET surface area and magnetization analyses suggested that the network is based on carbon nanofibers with carbon coated magnetic Fe nanoparticles. These magnetic networks offer a high exposed carbon fiber area, which has a good interaction with the IL to form a thin layer. Preliminary studies with a Pd dispersed in supported IL as catalyst for the hydrogenation of 1,5-cyclooctadiene showed a membrane effect, which leads to an important increase on the selective hydrogenation of 1,5-cyclooctadiene to cyclooctene.