| Ethylene oxide (EO) is an important intermediate for the synthesis of fine chemicals.
So, the oxidation of ethylene to EO is an industrially important reaction. The catalytic
oxidation of ethylene to EO by N2O on Pt-, Pd- and Ni-doped graphene nanosheets have been
probed theoretically by using the M06-2X hybrid DFT method. DFT calculations suggest that
catalytic oxidation proceeds in three steps. The reaction starts with the decomposition of N2O
to form activated atomic oxygen (Oads), adsorbed on the surface, and N2 molecule. Then, an
ethyleneoxy intermediate is produced from the addition of ethylene to the Oads. Finally, the
cyclization of ethyleneoxy intermediate results in EO as a desirable product. Our findings
demonstrate that compared to Pt- or Pd-doped graphene, the Ni-doped surface is an efficient
catalyst for the epoxidation of ethylene to EO by N2O under mild conditions. The catalytic
epoxidation method demonstrated herein is a green approach as N2 gas is the only by-product
at the expense of a greenhouse gas N2O. |