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Morphology Tailoring of Sulfonic Acid Functionalized Organosilica Nanohybrids for the Synthesis of Biomass‐Derived Alkyl Levulinates
Author(s) -
An Sai,
Song Daiyu,
Lu Bo,
Yang Xia,
Guo YiHang
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201501219
Subject(s) - levulinic acid , alkyl , mesoporous material , sulfonic acid , catalysis , morphology (biology) , chemical engineering , materials science , furfural , molecule , hydrothermal synthesis , hydrothermal circulation , organic chemistry , chemistry , polymer chemistry , biology , engineering , genetics
Morphology evolution of sulfonic acid functionalized organosilica nanohybrids (Si(Et)Si‐Pr/ArSO 3 H) with a 1D tubular structure (inner diameter of ca. 5 nm), a 2D hexagonal mesostructure (pore diameter of ca. 5 nm), and a 3D hollow spherical structure (shell thickness of 2–3 nm and inner diameter of ca. 15 nm) was successfully realized through P123‐templated sol–gel cocondensation strategies and fine‐tuning of the acidity followed by aging or a hydrothermal treatment. The Si(Et)Si‐Pr/ArSO 3 H nanohybrids were applied in synthesis of alkyl levulinates from the esterification of levulinic acid and ethanolysis of furfural alcohol. Hollow spherical Si(Et)Si‐Pr/ArSO 3 H and hexagonal mesoporous analogues exhibited the highest and lowest catalytic activity, respectively, among three types of nanohybrids; additionally, the activity was influenced by the SO 3 H loading. The activity differences are explained in terms of different Brønsted acid and textural properties, reactant/product diffusion, and mass transfer rate, as well as accessibility of SO 3 H sites to the reactant molecules. The reusability of the nanohybrids was also evaluated.