A novel vapor phase process for aromatic ketone synthesis

The vapor phase catalytic reaction between aromatic carboxylic acid and acetic acid was investigated. Many metal oxides catalyzed the reaction between 2methylbenzoic acid (OTA) and acetic acid (AA) to produce 2methylacetophenone (OMA), and weakly acidic oxides such as Th, U, Ce, and La oxide exhibited higher yield of OMA. The OMA yield depended on the catalyst support. SiO₂, Al₂O₃, TiO₂, and ZrO₂ with a surface area of less than 200 m² g^–1 appeared to be suitable as industrial catalyst supports. CeO₂ on Al₂O₃was chosen as an industrial catalyst for the synthesis of OMA because of higher productivity, longer catalyst life, and lifting of legal restrictions on catalyst handling. This catalyst system can also be applied to the syntheses of acetophenone, nitroacetophenone, and chloroacetophenone.