Catalytic activity of zeolites for synthesis reaction of methylenedianiline from aniline and formaldehyde

The catalytic activities of Y-, β-, and ZSM-5-zeolites for methylenedianiline (MDA) synthesis from the condensation reaction of aniline and formaldehyde have been investigated. Among β-zeolites with various Al concentrations (Si/Al ratios from 10 to 120 mol mol−1), β-zeolite with Si/Al ratio of 13.6 mol mol−1 shows the best catalytic performance in MDA synthesis. Y-zeolite exhibited lower catalytic activity than β-zeolites under the identical reaction conditions, however, exhibited the higher selectivity to 4,4′-MDA. Furthermore, it revealed that aniline/formaldehyde and catalyst/formaldehyde ratio, and reaction temperature also influenced on the MDA yield and isomers distribution.