Hydration of α‐Pinene over SO 4 2− /Zr‐MCM‐41 in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

The hydration of α‐Pinene to α‐Terpineol was studied using SO 4 2− /Zr‐MCM‐41 mesoporous molecular sieves as catalysts in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ). The reaction results showed SO 4 2− /Zr‐MCM‐41 was of better selectivity to the α‐Terpineol in scCO 2 than in conventional conditions, and was of the same catalytic activities in scCO 2 and in conventional conditions. The effect of some factors on the catalytic activities and the regenerable performance of SO 4 2− /Zr‐MCM‐41, such as different Zr source, the method of introducing SO 4 2− , the concentration of SO 4 2− , calcination temperature and calcination time, were studied. These results showed the cooperation of Zr and SO 4 2− was the main reason that SO 4 2− /Zr‐MCM‐41 was of excellent catalytic activity, and Zr(SO 4 ) 2 , as the Zr source, was active for the regenerable performance of SO 4 2− /Zr‐MCM‐41.