Preparation and application of zirconium sulfate supported on SAPO-34 molecular sieve as solid acid catalyst for esterification

• SAPO-34 supported zirconium sulfate solid acid catalyst was prepared.
• Esterification of acetic acid with ethanol can be catalyzed by ZS/SAPO-34.
• The hydration of ZS is vital to the acidic property and catalytic performance.
• The ZS/SAPO-34 catalyst treated at 200 °C shows good reusability.

Zirconium sulfate (ZS) was supported on SAPO-34 molecular sieve by using an incipient wetness impregnation method with zirconium sulfate as the precursor. The as-prepared catalysts were used as solid acid catalyst for esterification reaction of acetic acid with ethanol. The influence of calcination temperature on the acidic property, catalytic activity, and reusability of ZS/SAPO-34 catalysts were mainly investigated. FT-IR, SEM, EDS and TG analysis have been carried out to demonstrate the characteristics of ZS/SAPO-34 catalysts. It was found that the 30 wt%ZS/SAPO-34 catalysts display the property of superacid irrespective of calcination temperature. The ZS/SAPO-34 catalyst treated at 200 °C can enhance the interaction between the supported ZS and SAPO-34 and keep the catalyst remaining substantially active after several reaction cycles. However, further increasing calcination temperature will cause the transfer of ZS from hydrate to anhydrous phase, and thus the decrease of activity.

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