Ozone initiated oxidation of 1,2-dichlorobenzene catalyzed by manganese loaded gamma alumina and silica

The ozone-initiated oxidation of 1,2-dichlorobenzene catalysed by manganese supported on metal oxide (gamma-Al2O3 and SiO2) at ambient temperature and pressure conditions is reported in this study. Wet impregnation method was used to synthesise various percentages of Mn loading on gamma-Al2O3 and SiO2 supports. The catalysts were characterised by FT-IR, SEM, EDX, TEM, ICP-OES, BET and XRD techniques. All the reactions were conducted in an impinger glass reactor using 25 mL pure 1,2-dichlorobenzene and 0.25 g of the catalysts. The reaction products were characterised by GC-MS and FT-IR for quantitative and qualitative identification of the products. The 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 % of Mn impregnated on gamma-Al2O3 and SiO2 were found to be more active than gamma-Al2O3 and SiO2 supports. The 5 % Mn/SiO2 catalyst was found to be the most active catalyst in the ozonation reaction of 1,2-dichlorobenzene with a percentage conversion of 44 % and percentage selectivity of 88 % towards the main product mucochloric acid. Whereas, 5 % Mn/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst resulted in the percentage conversion of 40 % and percentage selectivity of 86 % towards the main product mucochloric acid. The activity of the catalysts is attributed to manganese loaded on gamma-Al2O3 and SiO2 supports.