Synthesis of novel Brønsted–Lewis acidic ionic liquid catalysts and their catalytic activities in acetalization

Ionic liquid catalysts which combine the characters of the Brønsted–Lewis solid acids and the ionic liquid are prepared. The obtained composite materials were well characterized by FT-IR, TGA, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and investigated their performance for acetalization. The acid strength was determined by the Hammett method combined with UV–vis spectroscopy. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the synthesis of benzaldehyde glycol acetal and the effects of various reaction conditions. A Box–Behnken experimental Design (BBD) was employed to search for the optimal yield. The kinetic study for the acetalization was performed under the optimum operating conditions.