Viktória Hajdu, Emőke Sikora, Gábor Muránszky, Ferenc Kristály, Zoltán Kaleta, Miklós Nagy, Béla Viskolcz, Béla Fiser & László Vanyorek
Abstract
The 2,4-toluenediamine (TDA) is one of the most important chemicals in the polyurethane industry, produced by the catalytic hydrogenation of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT). The development of novel
catalysts that can be easily recovered from the reaction mixture is of paramount importance. In our
work, a NiFe2O4/N-BCNT supported magnetic catalyst was prepared by a modified coprecipitation
method. The catalyst support alone also showed activity in the synthesis of TDA. Platinum
nanoparticles were deposited on the catalyst support surface by a fast, relatively simple, and efficient
sonochemical method, resulting in a readily applicable catalytically active system. The prepared
catalyst exhibited high activity in hydrogenation tests, which was proved by the exceptionally high
DNT conversion (100% for 120 min at 333 K) and TDA yield (99%). Furthermore, the magnetic catalyst
can be easily recovered from the reaction medium by the action of an external magnetic field, which
can greatly reduce catalyst loss during separation.
Keywords: Catalytic reactions, Magnetic catalyst, Polyurethane precursor, Polymer industry, Toluenediamine