Production of biodiesel through transesterification of soybean oil using ZIF-8@GO doped with sodium and potassium catalyst

One pot encapsulating (hydrothermal) method was used to synthesize ZIF-8@GO hybrid nanocomposites. Na/ZIF-8@GO doped with potassium were synthesized by the hydrothermal treatment of ZIF-8@GO precursor with a 10 M alkali solution containing both NaOH and KOH. The final product (KNa/ZIF-8@GO) was characterized by FTIR, XRD, BET, TGA, and SEM. The structure of graphene oxide remains intact following various modifications, as shown by absorption–desorption analysis, while spectral techniques indicate successful immobilization of the neat ZIF-8 between the GO sheets. Furthermore, soybean oil has been used as the feedstock in the preparation of biodiesel by KNa/ZIF-8@GO-catalyzed transesterification process. The effects of various reaction parameters, including methanol/oil molar ratio, reaction time, catalyst mass, and reaction temperature were investigated. A remarkable conversion of 98% was obtained using a 8% (wt/wt oil) of KNa/ZIF-8@GO catalyst, methanol/oil molar ratio of 18 : 1, and reflux temperature of methanol over a period of 8 h. The solid catalyst can be reused over at least three cycles under mild reaction conditions.