Nickel oxide-silica core-shell catalyst for acetylene hydroxycarbonylation

Acrylic acid and its ester derivatives are important chemicals utilized to synthesize numerous end products. Acrylic acid is industrially produced via propylene oxidation. We report in this study a nickel oxide-silica core shell catalyst (NiO@SiO2) for acetylene hydroxycarbonylation as an alternative way to synthesize acrylic acid. NiO@SiO2 catalyst provided the higher turnover frequency and yield than commercial nickel oxide catalyst on acetylene hydroxycarbonylation. The carbon monoxide/acetylene ratio influenced more significantly to initial reaction rate than final acrylic acid yield. The silica shell protected the nickel oxide from sintering during reaction, however, the catalyst was deactivated by coke formation, attributed to acetylene decomposition.