U.K. Nizar, J. Hidayatul, R. Sundari, B. Bahrizal, A. Amran, A. Putra, L. Latisma Dj, I. Dewata
This study investigates the correlation of the number of titanium tetrahedral coordination and biodiesel production. The solid-state method has been used to synthesis of silica-titania catalyst for biodiesel production, which the precursors, i.e. silica and titania commercials were heated in the temperature range of 450 - 550°C. The characterization of the prepared silica-titania has been studied by FTIR and DR UV-Vis in order to identify and calculate the presence of titanium tetrahedral coordination in silica-titania catalyst. A very small peak at around 950 cm-1 indicated the presence of titanium tetrahedral coordination through Si-O-Ti bonds. Deconvolution of DR UV-Vis spectra showed the coordination of titanium in silica-titania is more octahedral. However, the number of titanium tetrahedral coordination of the prepared silica-titania is found higher than that of TiO2 commercial. The increasing of titanium tetrahedral fraction in silica-titania affects the physical properties of biodiesel in terms of boiling point, viscosity and density, which is produced by the reaction of methanol and palm oil. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.
Department of Chemistry, Universitas Negeri Padang, Jl. Prof. Hamka, Air Tawar, Padang-West-Sumatera, Indonesia; Departement of Mechanical Engineering, University of Mercu Buana, Jakarta, Indonesia
