Silica Sulfuric Acid and Related Solid-supported Catalysts as Versatile Materials for Greener Organic Synthesis

Solid acid catalysts are the best alternative to existing homogeneous protic acids, being less toxic, easy to handle and most importantly having the additional possibility to be reused several times. In recent years, silica has been employed as porous support to immobilize a series of acid species towards the design of novel solid acid catalysts. These materials have been employed in several organic reactions, including alkylation, acylation, oxidation, protection reactions, hydrolysis, deprotection reactions, condensation and multicomponent reactions. The present work has been aimed to provide a short overview on relevant type of solid acids and their applications in heterogeneously catalyzed processes.