Sulfonic-acid-functionalized polymers based on fluorinated methylstyrenes and styrene as promising heterogeneous catalysts for esterification

Novel sulfonic-acid-functionalized poly(F-STs-co-ST) copolymers based on fluorinated methylstyrenes and styrene were successfully synthesized via post-sulfonation method using chlorosulfonic acid (HSO3Cl) as a sulfonating agent. The as-prepared solid acid catalysts were fully characterized by FTIR, EA, TGA, DSC, acidimetric titration and XPS analyses. Catalytic activity of the materials was examined in esterification of acetic acid with nbutanol. The fluoropolymers obtained revealed high catalytic performance (ca. 85%) in n-butyl acetate formation and, consistently, high activities in the esterification for up to five consecutive runs. Comparison of the TOFs calculated for the prepared fluoromethylstyrene-styrene based polymers and the non-halogenated Dowex-50W resin revealed higher TOF values for the fluoropolymers. The effect of the presence of fluorinated substituents in the polymer structure on the catalytic activity of the resulting catalysts was discussed.

Automated summary

Novel sulfonic-acid-functionalized poly(F-STs-co-ST) copolymers based on fluorinated methylstyrenes and styrene were successfully synthesized via post-sulfonation method. The fluoropolymers demonstrated high catalytic performance in esterification reactions and maintained high activities for up to five consecutive runs. The presence of fluorinated substituents in the polymer structure was found to enhance the catalytic activity of the resulting catalysts.