ZrOCl2•8H2O:: An efficient, cheap and reusable catalyst for the esterification of acrylic acid and other carboxylic acids with equimolar amounts of alcohols

Esterifications of carboxylic acids with equimolar amount of alcohols could be efficiently catalyzed by ZrOCl(2)(.)8H(2)O. Acrylate esters were obtained in good yields under solvent-free conditions at ambient temperature. The esterification of other carboxylic acids with alcohols also proceeded at ambient temperature or at 50 degrees C to afford esters in high yields. If the esterification was performed in toluene under azeotropic reflux conditions to remove water, both the catalytic activity of ZrOCl(2)(.)8H(2)O and the rate of esterification could be increased greatly. Furthermore, in the present catalytic system, the esters could be easily separated from the reaction mixtures and the catalyst could be easily recovered and reused.