Synthesis of Sulfonated Poly[Styrene‐co‐(Trimethylolpropane Triacrylate)] and Application in the Catalysis of Glycerol Acetylation

The purpose of this study is the synthesis of a sulfonated resin of styrene cross‐linked with trimethylolpropane triacrylate (PS‐TMPTA) and its application as a catalyst in glycerol acetylation. The process for obtaining the resins is an aqueous suspension copolymerization at 80°C followed by a sulfonation with sulfuric acid at 57.5°C. Resin characterizations are performed regarding characteristics such as ion exchange capacity and swelling index. The ion exchange capacity (IEC) found for PS‐TMPTA (4.4 mmol g −1 ) is lower compared to those of commercial resins, for example, Amberlyst 36 (5.4 mmol g −1 ). Despite the low IEC (lower number of catalytic sites), PS‐TMPTA presents a relatively high swelling index (2.4) and a higher turnover number (TON = 62.3 h −1 ) in comparison with the resin Amberlyst 36 (TON = 51.1 h −1 ) in glycerol acetylation at 80°C with excess of acetic acid.