Sulfonated ordered mesoporous carbon for catalytic preparation of biodiesel

Sulfonated ordered mesoporous carbons (OMC) have been synthesized by covalent attachment of sulfonic acid-containing aryl radicals on the surface of mesoporous carbons. Compared with other solid acid catalysts, the resulting materials show stable and highly efficient catalytic performance in biodiesel production with the highest conversion reaching 73.59%. The reported carbon-based catalysts can be reused for several times without loss of activity. Furthermore, sulfonated OMC with larger pore size makes active sites easily accessible and exhibits higher catalytic ability. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.