Strategies for immobilizing homogeneous zinc catalysts in biodiesel production

• A [ZnCl2(N,N)] type complex was anchored on silica.
• Decoration of PAMAM-G0-3 dendrimers was carried out with analogous metal pendants.
• Both types of catalysts catalyzed the trans-esterification of neutral and acid soybean oil.

This work describes two strategies for immobilizing Zn(II) catalysts: anchorage of a [ZnCl2(N,N)] type complex on silica and decoration of PAMAM-G0-3 dendrimers with analogous metal pendants. Both types of catalysts were able to catalyze the trans-esterification of neutral and acid soybean oil, and could be easily recycled through filtration techniques.

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