Liquid-Phase Hydration of Acrylonitrile to Acetamide over the Copper-Nickel Alloy Catalysts

Article abstract of DOI:10.1246/bcsj.60.1579

The liquid-phase hydration of acrylonitrile to acrylamide has been examined over various metal catalysts at 75 deg C.Five metal elements - Cu, Ag, Fe, Co, and Ni - showed the catalytic conversion of acrylonitrile.The Cu and Ag catalysts gave the acrylamide with a 100 percent selectivity, while the other metals, Fe, Co, and Ni, yielded three products: acrylamide, ehylene cyanohydrin, and bis(2-cyanoethyl) ether.The alloying of Cu and Ni led to an increse in the formation of acrylamide with keeping the high selectivity to acrylamide.Especially, Cu-Ni alloys, with a range of 20-70 percent Cu in their bulk composition, were much more active catalysts than Cu.The maximum yield of acrylamide was obtained on the Cu-Ni alloy catalysts was observed, although such a retardation occurred on the Cu catalyst surface.The maximum synergistic effect was observed over the alloy with the surface component ratio of Cu to Ni of 4; this effect was discussed.