Nanostructured Polymeric Heterogeneous Catalyst for Industrial Applications

72604-Polymeric acid catalysts are increasingly used in the chemical industry. However, current polymeric heterogeneous catalysts are amorphous, and do not have well defined, regular pores with controlled diameters and tight pore size dimensions (as do, for example, high temperature zeolite acid catalysts). It is now known that if acid groups can be ordered on the inside of 10 to 15 nanometer diameter pores (as the active sites), the resulting catalysis of reactions will produce higher yields, much fewer side reactions, and at lower temperatures. This project will develop a process for making such nanostructured polymeric acid catalysts by a self-assembly route. The resulting catalysts will outperform conventional polymeric catalysts because size or shape selective reactions will become a possibility. Phase I produced and characterized nanostructured catalyst materials, which were tested for use in the esterification reaction forming dioctyl phthalate, the most abundant plasticizer on the market. The catalyst outperformed a commercial resin in both reactivity and selectivity. In Phase II, the new catalysts will be fully characterized and tested in batch and continuous packed bed reactors for the esterification reaction forming dioctyl phthalate. The catalysts will also be screened for potential use in other types of reactions including phenol alkylation, etherification, and the formation of bisphenol “A”, acetals, and ketals. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee: Hetereogeneous shape-selective acid catalysts should find use in the industrial production of chemicals by esterification. Products include plasticizers, solvents, perfumery, flavor chemicals, petrochemicals, argrochemicals, and other fine chemicals. Other industrial chemical reactions and transformations using acid catalysis include alkylation, transalkylation, isomerization, oligomerization, acylation, and nitration.