Synthesis and characterization of sulfonic acid functionalized mesoporous SBA-15: application in esterification reaction

The aim of our work was to synthesize a sulfonic acid functionalized SBA-15 catalyst in a single step process. For the characterization, we used nitrogen adsorption-desorption (BET), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effectiveness of the synthesized solid acid catalyst was checked on a model esterification reactions of benzoic and myristic acid with methanol. All reactions were carried out in an automated batch reactor system at different temperatures and different mass of the catalyst. The benzoic acid esterification catalysed with the functionalized catalyst SBA-15 was successfully described by the first order kinetic expression and myristic acid by the Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson model.