One-pot synthesis of a novel magnetic carbon based solid acid for alkylation

Magnetic carbon based solid acid has been synthesized via the one-pot hydrothermal carbonization of chitosan, magnetic core and hydroxyethylsulfonic acid at 160°C for 4 h. Chitosan was used as the carbon resource to protect the magnetic core from hydroxyethylsulfonic acid. The magnetic carbon based solid acid owned high BET surface and core shell structure, which provided the easily accessible acid sites on the carbon shell. The novel carbon based solid acid exhibited high activities for the hydrophobic alkylation of 1- dodecene and benzene, which was difficult to activate by traditional carbon based solid acids. The simple magnetic recovery added the advantages of the solid acid. The high activities for hydrophobic reactions, high stability and magnetic recovery were the key properties of the solid acid, which greatly enlarged the application area of the solid acid.