Preparation of [11C]formaldehyde using a silver‐containing ceramic catalyst

A ceramic material, prepared from kaolin doped with silver ions in various concentrations, was evaluated as a catalyst for the conversion of ¹¹C] methanol into ¹¹C]formaldehyde in a gas flow system. Employment of ¹¹C] methanol with a minimized water content, 300 mg of catalyst (20% of silver) at 500°C and a carrier gas flow rate of 40 mL/min resulted in a radiochemical decay‐corrected ¹¹C]formaldehyde yield of 67% relative to ¹¹C]methanol. Wet ¹¹C]methanol under the same conditions gave 54% of ¹¹C] formaldehyde. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.