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Enhanced Heterogeneous Catalytic Conversion of Furfuryl Alcohol into Butyl Levulinate
Author(s) -
Demma Carà Piera,
Ciriminna Rosaria,
Shiju N. R.,
Rothenberg Gadi,
Pagliaro Mario
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201301027
Subject(s) - furfuryl alcohol , catalysis , selectivity , mesoporous material , yield (engineering) , chemistry , butanol , alcohol , n butanol , condensation , condensation polymer , filtration (mathematics) , organic chemistry , materials science , ethanol , physics , statistics , mathematics , metallurgy , thermodynamics
We study the catalytic condensation of furfuryl alcohol with 1‐butanol to butyl levulinate. A screening of several commercial and as‐synthesized solid acid catalysts shows that propylsulfonic acid‐functionalized mesoporous silica outperforms the state‐of‐the‐art phosphotungstate acid catalysts. The catalyst is prepared via template‐assisted sol‐gel polycondensation of TEOS and MPTMS. It gives 96 % yield (and 100 % selectivity) of butyl levulinate in 4 h at 110 °C. Reaction profiles before and after a hot filtration test confirm that the active catalytic species do not leach into the solution. The catalyst synthesis, characterization, and mode of operation are presented and discussed.