Growth of the Nano-islands of Barium Aluminum Oxide Nano-spheres on the Surface of Al2O3-MgO Composite: Preparation and Evaluation of their Catalytic Activity

The islands like barium aluminum oxide BaAl2O4 nano-spheres were grown on the surface of Al2O3-MgO composite via oil in water (O/W) micro-emulsion method. Hexane, 2-aminoethanol and ethanol were used as oil phase, non-anionic surfactant and co-surfactant respectively. The synthesized Ba Al2O4 nano-spheres were grown on the surface of Al2O3-MgO composite and have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX). The BaAl2O4 nano-spheres grown on the surface of Al2O3-MgO composite exhibited high catalytic activity for the transformation of cinnamaldehyde, methyl/ethyl acetoacetate and aromatic amines as the starting materials to 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives.