Zirconia-supported phosphotungstic acid as catalyst for alkylation of phenol with benzyl alcohol

The liquid-phase alkylation of phenol with benzyl alcohol was carried out using zirconia-supported phosphotungstic acid (PTA) as catalyst. The catalysts with different PTA loadings (5–20 wt.% calcined at 750 °C) and calcination temperature (15 wt.% calcined from 650 to 850 °C) were prepared and characterized by ³¹P MAS NMR and FT-IR pyridine adsorption spectroscopy. The catalyst with optimum PTA loading (15%) and calcination temperature (750 °C) was prepared in different solvents. ³¹P MAS NMR spectra of the catalysts showed two types of phosphorous species, one is the Keggin unit and the other is the decomposition product of PTA and the relative amount of each depends on PTA loading, calcination temperature and the solvent used for the catalyst preparation. The catalysts with 15% PTA on zirconia calcined at 750 °C showed the highest Brönsted acidity. At 130 °C and phenol/benzyl alcohol molar ratio of 2 (time, 1 h), the most active catalyst, 15% PTA calcined at 750 °C gave 98% benzyl alcohol conversion with 83% benzyl phenol selectivity.     

Regioselective bromination of activated aromatic substrates with a ZrBr4/diazene mixture

A regioselective method for the bromination of phenols, ethers and anilines using a ZrBr₄/diazene mixture is described. The reaction takes place under mild reaction conditions and the bromine atom adds first at the para unsubstituted position with respect to the OH, OR or NR₂ group of the activated aromatic substrate. Less reactive compounds such as toluene, phenyl acetate, benzonitrile and trifluoromethylbenzene remain intact under the same conditions.     

Regioselective ring-opening of aziridines with potassium thiocyanate and thiols using sulfated zirconia as a heterogeneous recyclable catalyst

Ring-opening of aziridines with potassium thiocyanate and thiols has efficiently been carried out at room temperature in the presence of sulfated zirconia to give the corresponding β-aminothiocyanates and β-aminosulfides, respectively, in high yields within 2 h and with high regioselectivity. The catalyst, a solid acid, functions under heterogeneous conditions.     

Alkylation of p-cresol with tert-butanol catalyzed by heteropoly acid supported on zirconia catalyst

Butylation of p-cresol by tert-butanol was catalyzed by 12-tungstophosphoric acid supported on zirconia (TPA/ZrO₂) under flow conditions. Catalysts prepared with different TPA loading (5–30 wt.%) were calcined at 1023 K and acidity was estimated by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of NH₃. Fifteen percent TPA/ZrO₂ showed the highest acidity and found to be the most active catalyst in butylation of p-cresol. The effects of temperature, space velocity (LHSV) and molar ratio of the reactants on the conversion of p-cresol and products selectivities were optimized and the optimum reaction conditions evaluated were 403 K, tert-butanol/p-cresol (Bu/Cr) molar ratio 3 and LHSV 4 h⁻¹. Under the optimized conditions, conversion of p-cresol was found to be 61 mol% with product selectivity for 2-tert-butyl-p-cresol (TBC) 81.4%, 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-cresol (DTBC) 18.1% and tert-butyl-p-tolyl ether (ether) 0.5%. Study of time on stream (TOS) performed as a function of time for 100 h showed that the loss in activity in terms of conversion of p-cresol was 6%.     

Regioselective control using a catalyst switch in the reaction of diarylmethyl chlorides with allyltributylstannane

Regioselective control in the reaction of diarylmethyl chlorides 5a with allyltributyltin is described. The reaction pathway (allylative dearomatization vs cross-coupling) can be easily controlled using different catalysts. When reactions are performed in the presence of Pd₂(dba)₃ and PPh₃, allylative dearomatization proceeds to provide satisfactory yield of the desired products. However, when Cy₃P·HBF₄ is employed as a catalyst instead of palladium, a Stille-type cross-coupling reaction takes place exclusively to give excellent yields of the corresponding products.     

Modification effect of spherical zirconia with SiCl4 as a support of methylaluminoxane for heterogeneous single-site catalyst

Unmodified and SiCl₄-modified spherical zirconia-supported methylaluminoxane were used as cocatalyst for propylene polymerization as well as ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization in combined with Me₂Si(η³-C₁₃H₈)(η¹-N^tBu)TiMe₂ (1) at 0 °C. The modification with SiCl₄ improved the catalytic activity. The improvement was clearer in ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization than in propylene polymerization. The number average molecular weight (M_n) of polypropylenes increased linearly against the polymerization time regardless the cocatalyst used to give polymers with narrow molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n < 1.32), indicating the living nature of the catalytic systems. Thus, propagation rate constant (k_p) and the number of active centers (C^*) were evaluated from M_n and the number of polymer-chains. When the zirconia was modified with SiCl₄, the k_p value decreased and the C^* increased. The latter effect was more significant to enhance the catalytic activity.     

Spherical hollow mesoporous silica supported phosphotungstic acid as a promising catalyst for α-arylstyrenes synthesis via Friedel-Crafts alkenylation

This work presents a scalable approach for preparing spherical hollow mesoporous silica with high surface area/pore volume, serving as outstanding support for supported phosphotungstic acid catalyst with much superior catalytic performance to the one on previously reported spherical mesoporous silica toward diverse transformations, ascribed to the strengthened mass transfer and the enlarged exposure degree of acidic sites to reactants those resulting from unique hollow and mesoporous morphology.     

Highly efficient heterogeneous acylations of aromatic compounds with acid anhydrides and carboxylic acids by montmorillonite-enwrapped titanium as a solid acid catalyst

Montmorillonite-enwrapped titanium hydroxide species (Ti⁴⁺-mont) acted as a highly efficient heterogeneous acid catalyst for the acylation of aromatic compounds with acid anhydrides or carboxylic acids. The catalytic activity of the Ti⁴⁺-mont was higher than those of other acid catalysts such as zeolites, SO ₄ ²⁻ /ZrO₂ and p-toluenesulfonic acid. For example, the reaction of anisole with dodecanoic acid in the presence of the Ti⁴⁺-mont catalyst gave 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-dodecanone in 97% yield. Furthermore, the Ti⁴⁺-mont catalyst was easily separated from the reaction mixture and was recyclable.     

Efficient synthesis of xanthenedione derivatives using cesium salt of phosphotungstic acid as a heterogeneous and reusable catalyst in water

Cs_2.5H_0.5PW₁₂O₄₀ has been reported to be an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of 1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthene from aldehydes and 1,3-cyclohexanedione/dimedone in water. This approach is environmentally benign with clean synthetic procedure, short reaction time, easy workup procedure, excellent yield, and regeneration of catalyst, which made this protocol efficient and safe.     

N-tert-Butoxycarbonylation of amines using H3PW12O40 as an efficient heterogeneous and recyclable catalyst

The commercially available heteropoly acid H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ (0.5 mol %) is a very efficient and environmentally benign catalyst for N-tert-butoxycarbonylation of amines (primary, secondary) with di-tert-butyl dicarbonate at room temperature in short reaction times (<10 min). No competitive side products such as isocyanates, ureas, N,N-di-tert-butoxycarbonyls, O-Boc and oxazolidinones were observed. Chiral α-amino alcohols and esters afforded the corresponding N-Boc derivatives chemoselectively in excellent yields.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Kinetic and anion degradation products study on photocatalytic degradation of reactive orange 5 solution with phosphotungstic acid

Increasing environmental pollution caused by toxic dyes is a matter of great concern due to their hazardous nature. So it is crucial to develop processes which can destroy these dyes effectively. It has been generally agreed that reactive orange 5 (KGN) can be effectively degraded in aerated phosphotungstic acid (HPA) in a homogeneous reaction system using near-UV irradiation. In this paper, photocatalytic degradation of reactive orange 5 solutions with phosphotungstic acid was investigated, especially more attention was paid to the kinetic model and the anion degradation products. The results revealed that the photocatalytic degradation reaction of KGN with HPA in a homogenous solution can be described by Langmuir-Hinshelwood equation and Langmuir-Hinshewood kinetic model described it well. The reaction manifested the first order with lower concentration(⩽30 mg L⁻¹) with the limiting rate constant and the adsorption constant in this case being 0.8098 mg L⁻¹ min⁻¹ and 4.359 10⁻² L mg⁻¹, respectively. The degradation mechanism of KGN with HPA is different from that with TiO₂, the anion products of the two reaction systems are the same. The difference in degradation mechanism of KGN with HPA from that with TiO₂ is caused by the nature of the photocatalyst.      

Eco-friendly synthesis of 2-aryl-1-arylmethyl-1H-benzimidazoles using alumina-sulfuric acid as a heterogeneous reusable catalyst

A cost-effective and eco-friendly synthesis of 2-aryl-1-arylmethyl-1H-benzimidazoles has been developed through the condensation of different aldehydes with o-phenylenediamine using alumina-sulfuric acid as a recyclable heterogeneous solid acid catalyst. Morphological properties of the catalyst have been investigated. Effect of different solvents and comparison of alumina-sulfuric acid with different acid catalysts have also been studied. A plausible mechanistic pathway has been proposed on the basis of the isotope labelling experiments where catalytic behaviour of alumina-sulfuric acid has been explained.     

12-Tungstophosphoric acid supported on inorganic oxides as heterogeneous and reusable catalysts for the selective preparation of alkoxymethyl ethers and their deprotections under different reaction conditions

A wide variety of primary and secondary alcohols were efficiently converted to their corresponding methoxymethyl (MOM) and ethoxymethyl (EOM) ethers in the presence of catalytic amounts of supported H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ on silica gel and zirconia at room temperature and under microwave irradiation at solvent-free conditions, whereas, phenols and tertiary alcohols remained intact under the same reaction conditions. Deprotection of these ethers to their parent alcohols was also achieved using these heterogeneous catalysts in ethanol, as a green solvent, under reflux conditions and microwave irradiation. Selective deprotection of primary and secondary MOM- and EOM-ethers in the presence of phenolic and tertiary ones, methyl and benzyl ethers, esters and trimethylsilyl ethers was achieved by these reagent systems. The present methodology offers several advantages such as short reaction times, high yields, simple procedure, heterogeneous reaction conditions, selectivity, non-toxicity and reusability of the catalysts.     

Turkish perlite supported nickel oxide as the heterogeneous acid catalyst for a series of Claisen–Schmidt condensation reactions

Potentially active and eco-friendly solid acid catalysts have been synthesized by loading different weight percentages (10, 15, and 50) of nickel oxide on thermally activated Turkish perlite through the deposition-precipitation method. Structural features of prepared catalysts were analyzed using BET surface area analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM), SEM-EDX, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), pyridine adsorbed FT-IR, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. Pyridine adsorbed FT-IR analysis confirmed the presence of the optimum amount of Bronsted acidic sites in a catalyst having 15 wt. % loading of nickel oxide, which was tested for catalyzing a series of Claisen–Schmidt condensation of cyclohexanone and aromatic aldehydes to produce good isolated yield (90%–93%) of 2,6-bis(substituted benzylidene)cyclohexanones, significantly used in anti-tumor and cytotoxic activities. The high catalytic efficiency of the chosen catalyst remains almost intact up to six reaction cycles. On higher wt. % loading of nickel oxide, crystallite size increases along with agglomeration of larger nickel oxide particles on catalyst surface resulting in pore blockage and poor catalytic activity. Loading of NiO on the surface of thermally activated Turkish perlite was confirmed by SEM-EDX analysis, and TEM observations show that the particle size of the preferred catalyst was less than 50 nm. Based on results drawn from XRD, FT-IR, pyridine adsorbed FT-IR, UV-Vis DRS studies, model structures were proposed for Turkish perlite and all prepared catalysts. During this work, the catalytic potential of the preferred catalyst was compared with other previously reported catalysts, and it showed appreciable results. The formed products were further confirmed by their melting point and ¹H-NMR analysis.     

Fe/MCM-41 as a promising heterogeneous catalyst for ozonation of p-chlorobenzoic acid in aqueous solution

Mesoporous MCM-41 and Fe loaded MCM-41（Fe/MCM-41）,which were successfully prepared by a hydrothermal method and a dipping method respectively,were applied as heterogeneous catalysts for ozonation of p-chlorobenzoic acid（p-CBA） in aqueous solution.MCM-41 and Fe/MCM-41 were characterized by XRD,FT-IR and diffuse reflectance UV-vis（DR-UV-vis） techniques. The presence of either MCM-41 or Fe/MCM-41 improves p-CBA and total organic carbon（TOC） removal efficiency compared to ozonation alone.Under the experimental condition,TOC removal rate of Fe/MCM-41/O₃ process is over 63.5%at 60 min oxidation time,44.5%using MCM-41 as catalyst,only 37.7%with ozonation alone.The presence of tert-butanol（TBA） in the Fe/MCM-41/ O₃ process indicated that the oxidation mechanism of p-CBA occurs via OH in the liquid bulk.And Fe/MCM-41 is a promising catalyst.     

Selective oxidation of sulfurs and oxidation desulfurization of model oil by 12-tungstophosphoric acid on cobalt-ferrite nanoparticles as magnetically recoverable catalyst

Silica-coated CoFe2O4 nanoparticles were prepared and used as a support for the immobilization of 12-tungstophosphoric acid, to produce a new magnetically separable catalyst. This catalyst was characterized using X-ray diffraction, wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, laser par-ticle size analysis, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The catalyst showed high activity in the selective oxidation of thioethers and thiophenes to the corresponding sulfones under mild condi-tions. The catalytic activity of the nanocatalyst in the oxidative desulfurization of model oil was investigated. The effect of nitrogen-containing compounds on sulfur removal from the model oil was also evaluated. The catalyst showed high activity in the oxidative desulfurization of diesel. The cata-lyst can be readily isolated from the oxidation system using an external magnet and no obvious loss of activity was observed when the catalyst was reused in four consecutive runs.     

Highly efficient esterification of carboxylic acids with alcohols by montmorillonite-enwrapped titanium as a heterogeneous acid catalyst

Montmorillonite-enwrapped titanium catalyst was found to efficiently promote the esterification of carboxylic acids with alcohols. In comparison to other catalysts reported to date, this heterogeneous catalyst offers a remarkably simple workup procedure, and is reusable without any appreciable loss in its activity and selectivity.     

Efficient dehydrative C-N bond formation using alcohols and amides in the presence of silica supported perchloric acid as a heterogeneous catalyst

Silica supported perchloric acid has been utilized as an efficient heterogeneous recyclable catalyst for N-alkylation of amides (sulfonamides and carboxamides) using alcohols (primary and secondary aliphatic as well as benzylic). The products are formed in high yields within 2-3 h.     

Highly efficient heterogeneous acylations of aromatic compounds with acid anhydrides and carboxylic acids by montmorillonite-enwrapped titanium as a solid acid catalyst

Montmorillonite-enwrapped titanium hydroxide species (Ti⁴⁺-mont) acted as a highly efficient heterogeneous acid catalyst for the acylation of aromatic compounds with acid anhydrides or carboxylic acids. The catalytic activity of the Ti⁴⁺-mont was higher than those of other acid catalysts such as zeolites, SO ₄ ^2? /ZrO₂ and p-toluenesulfonic acid. For example, the reaction of anisole with dodecanoic acid in the presence of the Ti⁴⁺-mont catalyst gave 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-dodecanone in 97% yield. Furthermore, the Ti⁴⁺-mont catalyst was easily separated from the reaction mixture and was recyclable.     

Kinetic modeling of liquid-phase esterification of acetic acid with n-butanol using heterogeneous poly(o-methylene p-toluene sulfonic acid) as catalyst

Liquid-phase esterification of acetic acid with n-butanol to n-butyl acetate is studied in the presence of a polymeric catalyst, that is, poly(o-methylene p-toluene sulfonic acid). The performance of the proposed catalyst is compared with the other commercially available homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts in terms of its activity. Experiments are conducted in an isothermal stirred batch reactor to study the effects of speed of agitation, temperature, and catalyst loading on the rate of reaction. A concentration-based pseudo-homogeneous (PH) kinetic model and activity-based kinetic models such as PH, Eley-Rideal (ER), and Langmuir-Hinselwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) models are developed. All the models considered in this study resulted in similar percentage deviation close to 4%. Further, kinetic models are validated through additional experiments, and it is observed that the simple concentration-based PH model is able to predict experimental data with least deviation compared to activity-based PH, ER, and LHHW models. The developed kinetic models are also tested using the Fisher-Snedecor test (F-test) and are found to be acceptable. By incorporating both modeling data and validation data, the overall absolute average deviations of different models are found to be concentration-based PH model 4.354%, activity-based PH model 5.006%, ER I model 5.189%, ER II model 5.403%, ER III model 5.437%, and LHHW model 6.104%, illustrating the superiority of the simple concentration-based PH model.