Synthesis of Undecylenic Ester over Mesoporous Catalysts

Well-ordered mesoporous molecular sieve P-SBA-15 functionalized with phosphoric acid group was prepared by post-synthetic method. XRD patterns showed that the structure of P-SBA-15 molecular sieve catalyst remained as that of all-silica mesoporous molecular sieve SBA-15. Compared with liquid acid and microporous molecular sieve catalysts, esterification performance of mesoporous molecular sieve catalysts P-SBA-15 was the best among solid catalysts. Effects of undecylenic acid/isopropyl alcohol mole ratio, reaction temperature, and mass of catalysts on esterification performance were focused in the study. Optimal reaction conditions were: 140°C; mole ratio of undecylenic acid/isopropyl alcohol 1:1; mass ratio of catalyst to reactant 10%; and reaction time ∼ 6 hr. Reuse of P-SBA-15 molecular sieve indicated that this catalyst had high stability under esterification conditions.