Product selectivity controlled by manganese oxide crystals in catalytic ammoxidation

The performances of heterogeneous catalysts can be effectively tuned by changing the catalyst structures. Here we report a controllable nitrile synthesis from alcohol ammoxidation, where the nitrile hydration side reaction could be efficiently prevented by changing the manganese oxide catalysts. α-Mn2O3 based catalysts are highly selective for nitrile synthesis, but MnO2-based catalysts including α, β, γ, and δ phases favour the amide production from tandem ammoxidation and hydration steps. Multiple structural, kinetic, and spectroscopic investigations reveal that water decomposition is hindered on α-Mn2O3, thus to switch off the nitrile hydration. In addition, the selectivity-control feature of manganese oxide catalysts is mainly related to their crystalline nature rather than oxide morphology, although the morphological issue is usually regarded as a crucial factor in many reactions.