Preparation of MCM-41 incorporated with lacunary Keggin polyoxometalate and its catalytic performance in esterification

► Lacunary polyoxometalate (LPOM) was encapsulated into MCM-41 via an original direct synthesized method. ► LPOM-DS samples showed better performance than LPOM-IM materials on the esterification of n-butanol with acetic acid. ► The conversion rate of n-butanol was up to 89.7%, and the selectivity of butyl acetate was nearly 100%. ► The strong interactions of LPOM with the support ensured little loss of LPOM from the composites in liquid phase reactions.