Synthesis of Sulfonic Acid-Functionalized Zirconium Poly(Styrene-Phenylvinyl-Phosphonate)-Phosphate for Heterogeneous Epoxidation of Soybean Oil

Abstract

In this paper, a solid acid catalyst (ZPS−PVPA−SO3H) was prepared by anchoring thiol group on zirconium poly(styrene-phenylvinyl-phosphonate)-phosphate (ZPS−PVPA), followed by oxidation of thiol groups to obtain sulfonic acid groups. The solid acid catalyst was characterized by XPS, X-ray, EDS, SEM, and TG-DSC. The successful preparation of sulfonic acid-functionalized ZPS−PVPA was confirmed. Subsequently, the catalytic performance of ZPS−PVPA−SO3H was investigated in the epoxidation of soybean oil. The results demonstrated that ZPS−PVPA−SO3H can effectively catalyze epoxidation of soybean oil with TBHP as an oxidant. Moreover, there was no significant decrease in catalytic activity after 5 repeated uses of the ZPS−PVPA−SO3H. Interestingly, the ZPS−PVPA−SO3H was kept in 2 mol/L of HCl overnight after the end of the seventh reaction, and the catalytic activity was gradually restored during the eighth to tenth cycles.

Keywords

• solid acid
• zirconium poly(styrene-phenylvinyl-phosphonate)-phosphate
• heterogeneous catalysis
• epoxidation of soybean oil