U.P.B. Sci. Bull., Series B, Vol. 81, Iss. 2, 2019 ISSN 1454-2331 CONVERSION OF n-BUTANOL TO n-BUTYRALDEHYDE - SCREENING OF COPPER CATALYSTS Ciprian-Gabriel CHISEGA-NEGRILĂ 1 , Aurel DIACON 2 , Ioan CĂLINESCU 3 , Mircea VÎNĂTORU 4 n-Butanol, a mass product of chemical industry, is a molecule with remarkable transformation potential. It may also be obtained from renewable resources via fermentation, making it more tempting as green molecule for chemistry. The present paper is focalized on conversion of n-butanol to butyraldehyde, one of the very useful transformations, over copper supported catalysts. In the screening stage various supports to generate cheap and innovative copper catalysts were used: TiO2, CeO2, ZrO2, Al2O3, Celite22, MnO2 and SiO2. The main reaction products were monitorized by gas chromatography to determine the best conversion and selectivity in the characteristic compound: n-butyraldehyde. Keywords: n-butanol, copper-supported catalyst, ultrasound, n-butyraldehyde 1. Introduction In the current context in which organic chemistry gathers its forces for a new offensive, catalysis is undergoing a period of revitalization in its attempt to produce new catalysts with improved performance.Thesupported catalysts obtained through conventional wet impregnation methods [1, 2] begin to be replaced with supported catalysts prepared by innovative, nonconventional techniques [3, 4] involving ultrasounds [5-8] and/or microwaves [9]. The latter have the potential to provide conversions and selectivities in useful products which are superior to the supported catalystsachieved by conventional methods. The catalystsprepared by conventional wet impregnation method differs from the catalysts prepared by innovative, nonconventional technique in that in the contacting phase ultrasounds are applied. n-Butyraldehyde, is a key intermediate [10] in chemical industry to obtain valuable products such as: plant protection products, accelerators for 1 Ph.D. student, Dept. of Bioresources and Polymer Science, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, Romania, e-mail: ciprian.chisega@upb.ro 2 Assist. Prof., Dept. of Bioresources and Polymer Science, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, Romania, e-mail: aurel.diacon@upb.ro 3 Prof., Dept. of Bioresources and Polymer Science, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, Romania, e-mail: ioan.calinescu@upb.ro 4 SR I degree, Dept. of Bioresources and Polymer Science, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, Romania, e-mail: mircea.vinatoru@upb.ro