Synthesis of sulfonic acid-functionalized MIL-101 for acetalization of aldehydes with diols

A metal-organic framework (MOF) MIL-101 bearing sulfonic acid groups (SO3 H-MIL-101), was prepared through one-pot hydrothermal synthesis strategy. This MOF was systemically characterized via XRD, N-2 adsorption, acid-base titration, XPS, FT-IR techniques, and elemental analysis, and then used as a heterogeneous catalyst for liquid-phase acetalizations of various aldehydes with diols. The obtained SO3H-MIL-101 shows high catalytic activity in the acetalizations due to the high utilization efficiency of its functionalized acid sites. Additionally, this catalyst can be easily recovered and reused five times in succession without significant loss of catalytic activity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.