LAUSR

Abstract Small-pored ( O stretching band appeared at lower frequency side on MCM-41 at a small amount of adsorption in addition to that observed on SBA-15. This result indicates the presence of the stronger interaction of cyclohexanone with MCM-41 than that with SBA-15. When the time course of the reaction was observed by in-situ IR observation, the consumption of activated carbonyl groups and the generation of 1,1-dimethoxycyclohexane, the reaction product, were confirmed. The presence of the activated cyclohexanone was most probably due to the adsorption on two (or more) OH groups in vicinity, while a non-activated species occupied a single OH group. The reaction probe IR method is thus, a direct and effective approach to extract the small differences in catalysis.