Direct Amide Synthesis over Composite Magnetic Catalysts in a Continuous Flow Reactor

Composite magnetic catalysts containing different amounts of sulfated titania (33-50 wt %) have been prepared by means of high energy ball-milling between TiO2 and NiFe2O4. The catalysts have been characterized with N-2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, XRD, temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The catalytic activity was measured in the reaction of aniline and 4-phenylbutyric acid in the continuous mode under conventional and inductive heating. The effect of catalyst loading in the reactor on reaction and deactivation has been studied, indicating the catalyst containing 50 wt % titania gave the highest reaction rate and least deactivation. The operation in a flow reactor under inductive heating increased the amide yield by 25% as compared to conventional heating. The initial reaction rate decreased by 30% after a period of 15 h on stream. The catalyst activity was fully restored after a treatment with an air flow at 400 degrees C.