Nano CuO/ZSM-5 zeolite was prepared and used as a catalyst for dehydration of 1,4-butanediol(BDO) to tetrahydrofuran(THF) in liquid-phase. It was found that the 4.6 wt% CuO/ZSM-5 displayed good catalytic performance, and nearly 100%of BDO conversion and more than 99% of THF selectivity could be achieved by a rotary evaporator reactor at 170 °C under the atmospheric pressure. With such mild reaction conditions, 2400 g BDO could be converted to THF over 1 g catalyst under semi-continuous operation. Characterizations with X-ray diffraction(XRD), temperature-programmed reduction(TPR),NH3-temperature programmed desorption(TPD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), transmission electron microscope(TEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET) over fresh and used 4.6 wt% CuO/ZSM-5 were conducted. Based on the results of the characterization and catalytic performance of 4.6 wt% CuO/ZSM-5, it can be conjectured that the formed 1–3 nm CuO nanoparticles, suitable acidity of the catalyst due to the synergic interaction of CuO and ZSM-5 support promoted the dehydration of BDO to THF.
Currently, industrial production of isocyanates, or diisocyanates in particular, has been exclusively based on phosgene processes. Phosgene is extremely toxic and large amounts of corrosive HC1 are produced as a side product. In the view of environment protection and society safety, development of non-phosgene processes for isocyanates production will be highly desired, and this should be one of the most important missions for green chemistry and catalysis. In this review, efforts for development of non-phosgene method for syntheses of isocyanates, i.e., catalytic syntheses of N-substituted carbamates from nitro- or amino-compounds with CO, dimethyl carbonate （DMC）, urea and even CO2 etc. as carbonyl sources, then thermal cracking of N-substituted carbamates to afford corresponding i socyanates, are summarized, and a brief prospect for non-phosgene syntheses of isocyanates is also addressed.
