Oxidation of Cyclohexanol to Adipic Acid Catalyzed by Heteropoly Acid

Adipic acid is synthesized by oxidation of cyclohexanol using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant over phosphotungstic acid catalyst. The effect of material ratio, catalyst amount, reaction temperature and time on the yield of adipic acid is studied. The yield of adipic acid reaches 70.6% under the conditions that the amount of cyclohexanol, 30 percent hydrogen peroxide and catalyst are 10.5 mL,60 mL and 0.5 mmol, respectively, the reaction temperature is (80°C), and the reaction time is 8 h. It is shown that this is a feasible and green chemical process to synthesize adipic acid.