Catalytic Conversion of Methanol to Formaldehyde Over La₂CuO₄ Nanoparticles.

La₂CuO₄ (LCO) perovskite nanoparticle was synthesized by microwave assisted combustion method and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), respectively. The XRD confirmed the formation of a single orthorhombic phase. The average crystallite size of LCO samples were 39.6 nm and 46.4 nm. This LCO perovskite nanoparticle was evaluated for the conversion of methanol to formaldehyde in liquid phase batch reactor at atmospheric conditions. The conversions were studied by using different solvents like dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), acetonitrile, n-hexane, and temperature varying from 60 °C to 90 °C and reaction time from 1 to 4 h duration. 50 mg of catalyst, 50 mmol of DMSO, 50 mmol of methanol, temperature at 70 °C and 4 h duration was the optimized condition to achieve 100% methanol conversion and 98% selectivity of formaldehyde. The reaction pathway of methanol to formaldehyde conversion is discussed.