Synthesis, characterisation and catalytic activity of SO3H-phenyl-MCM-41 materials

Ordered Mesoporous Materials (OMS) functionalised with alkyl sulfonic acid groups have been proved to be efficient esterification catalysts. Among them, materials having MCM-41 type structure exhibit the best performance. In this paper we report the synthesis and characterisation Of SO3H-phenyl-MCM-41 materials and their catalytic activity in the esterification of glycerol with lauric and oleic acids. We have studied several synthesis parameters: the amount of phenyl groups, the presence of additional methyl groups and the sulfonation procedure of the phenyl groups. The materials obtained have been characterised by XRD, Elemental Analysis, Nitrogen adsorption, TGA and TEM. Finally, it has been studied the influence of the different synthesis parameters on the behaviour of the catalysts in the mentioned reaction of esterification.