Mesoporous MSU materials functionalized with sulfonic group: A multinuclear NMR and theoretical calculation study

The structure and acidity of sulfonic group functionalized mesoporous materials with MSU structure were characterized in detail using multinuclear NMR technique in combination with other approaches such as XRD, N2 adsorption and desorption, as well as density function theory (DFT) calculation. Our experimental and theoretical calculation results indicate that functionalized MSU–SO3H materials with well-ordered mesostructure have been successfully synthesized and the materials have acid strength slightly weaker than that of microporous zeolite HZSM-5, which may be helpful for the understanding of some acid-catalyzed reactions, such as alkylation and esterification, occurring on sulfonic-functionalized mesoporous materials.