In situ sulfonated mesoporous polydivinylbenzene as a solid acid catalyzed the condensation of phenol and acetone

Abstract

Abstract The preparation of sulfonic acid solid acid by in situ sulfonation method is simpler, safer, and produces less acidic waste liquid than by post sulfonation method. In this paper, sulfonated mesoporous polydivinylbenzene solid acid was prepared by in situ sulfonation method, and the physical and chemical properties of solid acids were characterized by XRD, BET, FT-IR, etc. The acid density of sulfonated mesoporous polyvinylbenzene was characterized by acid base titration, and the results showed that the acid density was 1.58 mmol H+/g. The condensation of phenol and acetone was used as a probe reaction to investigate the catalytic performance of sulfonated mesoporous polydivinylbenzene as a solid acid. The results showed that the conversion rate of phenol could reach 38% (phenol theoretical conversion of 40%) and the selectivity of Bisphenol-A was 91% at 90 oC. More importantly, sulfonated mesoporous polydivinylbenzene had good stability, and after repeated use for five times, the catalytic performance was not significantly reduced.