Preparation of Nanostructural ZrO2/SiO2 and Study on Catalytic Activity of its Superacid Catalyst

A novel material ZrO₂/SiO₂ was synthesized on SiO₂ support by means of electrostatic self‐assembly technique and sol‐gel method. After treating this material with 0.7 mol·L^?1 H₂SO₄, a nanostructural solid superacid catalyst SO₄^2?‐ZrO₂/SiO₂ was prepared. The material was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Brunauer Emmett Teller method (BET) and Hammett indicator method. The catalytic activity of the catalyst was carried out for the esterification between acetic acid and butanol. Results show that the catalytic activity of this catalyst was much higher than that of powdered superacid catalyst SO₄^2?/ZrO₂. Due to the SiO₂ spherical support, the solid superacid catalyst could be separated and recovered easily. The nanostructural ZrO₂/SiO₂ will be a promising material for the chemical industry in the future.