Synthesis of stearic acid triethanolamine ester over Al-SBA-15

Al-SBA-15 mesoporous molecular sieves with Si/Al ratio ranging from 50 to 15 were prepared and used for the catalysis of esterification of stearic acid with triethanolamine. The effects of Si/Al ratio and catalyst dosage on the esterification were investigated. Under the conditions of mass fraction of catalyst 0.25% and Si/Al ratio 25, the acid value of the product and content of mono-esteramine plus di-esteramine in it were 1.78 mg KOH/g and 84.79%, respectively. From the result of reuse as catalyst, we knew that Al-SBA-15 showed very good stability during the esterification reaction. X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms (BET), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), pyridine in situ FTIR characterization of the catalyst samples had been recorded. The results showed that Al-SBA-15 exhibited uniform channels, large surface area, and suitable acid strength.