Utilization of renewable resources: Condensation of glycerol with acetone at room temperature catalyzed by organic–inorganic hybrid catalyst

• (C3H7)4N+/PWA is reported for the first time as an efficient solid acid catalyst.
• Condensation of glycerol with acetone reaction was performed at room temperature.
• High activity of (C3H7)4N+/PWA explained by its acidity and pseudo liquid behavior.
• The catalyst performed better compared to other conventional solid acid catalysts.
• Catalyst was truly heterogeneous with good reusability for three catalyst recycles.

Organic–inorganic hybrid catalyst prepared from organic ammonium salt and heteropoly acid is reported as highly active and selective heterogeneous catalyst for the condensation reaction of glycerol with acetone at room temperature. The product formed during the reaction, solketal is a highly potential compound applied majorly in petroleum and pharmaceutical industries. The (C3H7)4N+/PWA catalyst performed better than other conventional solid acid catalysts like H-beta, amberlyst-15, montmorillonite K-10 and cesium salt of phosphotungstic acid with 94% glycerol conversion and 98% selectivity for solketal. The high activity of (C3H7)4N+/PWA catalyst can be explained by its acidity and pseudo liquid behavior. An independent study on the influence of water on catalyst deactivation was performed by adding a small amount of water (glycerol: water (1:1)) during the reaction. The (C3H7)4N+/PWA catalyst showed a remarkable resistance toward deactivation due to water with only a marginal decrease in conversion (∼3%) compared to other conventional solid acid catalysts like amberlyst-15, H-beta and montmorillonite K-10. (C3H7)4N+/PWA catalyst was truly heterogeneous and showed good reusability for 3 catalyst recycles.

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