Preparation, Characterization and Catalytic Performance of La-SO42−/SBA-15 in Esterification of Acetic Acid with n-Butanol

La-SO42−/SBA-15 was synthesized with various amounts of lanthanum via incipient-wetness impregnation. Characterization was done by X-ray diffraction(XRD), transmission electron micrographs(TEM), nitrogen adsorption, FTIR spectroscopic analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and the total amount of acidity of catalyst was estimated by TPD of NH3. The results indicate that lanthanum has been incorporated into SBA-15 molecular sieve. The prepared materials(La-SO42−/SBA-15) keep the highly ordered mesoporous two-dimensional hexagonal structure and do not change the mesoporous channel structure of the support SBA-15. The catalyst showed best catalytic activity in the synthesis of n-butyl acetate. The optimum conditions of the esterification by orthogonal experiments were studied: the molar ratio of n-butanol to acetic acid 1:1.2, the amount of catalyst 7.5%, reaction time 80 min. The yield of n-butyl acetate could reach 93.2% under the optimum conditions. The catalyst was recyclable, cost effective and environmental friendly.