Preparation of Mesoporous SO42-/CeO2-TiO2-ZrO2 Solid Acid Catalyst and Its Application in Acetylation of Glycerol

Highly ordered mesoporous CeO2-TiO2-ZrO2 was prepared by using Pluronic F127 as the template from the evaporation-induced self assembly (EISA). SO42-/CeO2-TiO2-ZrO2 solid acid catalyst was obtained by immersing CeO2-TiO2-ZrO2 in 0.5 mol/L H2SO4. The prepared catalyst was characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and BET surface area. The small-angle XRD and TEM measurements reveal the catalyst possess two-dimensional mesostructure with large-domain regularity. BET surface area measurements show large surface area (160.8 m(2)/g) and pore volume (0.31043 m(3)/g). These meso-structured solid superacid catalyst was used for acetylation of glycerol with acetic acid. The effect of various parameters such as reaction temperature, molar ratio of acetic acid to glycerol, and the amount of catalyst were studied over the SO42-/CeO2-TiO2-ZrO2 catalyst to optimize the reaction conditions.