1. Gemini Surfactant Clay Intercalates for Triphase. Catalysis
Gemini Surfactant Clay Intercalates for Triphase Catalysis Nahid Shabestary, Department of Chemistry, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
We have successfully studied a triphase catalytic reaction based on Gemini surfactant exchange forms of Na-hectorite and montmorillonite clay (MMT) from smectite clay family. In this study, Gemini-surfactants clay complexes has been utilized as a solid phase in conjunction with organic as well as aqueous phase to carry out a nuclelophilic substitution reaction converting butyl bromide to its chloride counterpart. We have synthesized a series of Gemini surfactants comprised of two N-alkyldimethylammonium bromide groups joined together by an alkyl spacer and with a general formula Cn-Cx-Cn, where n = number of carbons in the free N-alkyl chain and x is the number of carbon atom in the spacer group (e.g. C8-Cx-C8, C12-Cx-C12, and C16-Cx-C16, C18-Cx-C18, where X = 2, 4, 6 and 8).
We have observed variable catalytic activities for Gemini surfactant-clay complexes based on Gemini surfactant structure. Considering near infinite possibility that exist to generate Gemini surfactants using conventional amphiphilic moieties and any type of spacer groups of the desired structure opens a vast opportunity for exploring an efficient catalysts in a triphase catalytic system.