Synthesis of spherical mesostructured zirconium phosphate with acidic properties

Spherical particles of mesoporous zirconium phosphate with excellent acidic properties have been prepared using a zirconium carbonate complex, diammonium hydrogen phosphate and tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTBr) in basic medium through precipitation. EDAX analysis of the calcined product has shown the P/Zr ratio 1.93. High specific surface area of 299 m2/g with narrow pore size distribution has been achieved after the removal of the surfactant through calcination. TEM micrograph of the calcined powder indicates mesoporous spherical particles with particle size 0.81 μm. From pyridine desorbed FTIR, the presences of a reasonable amount of Brönsted acid sites have been found in the calcined material. NH3-TPD experiment suggests excellent acidic nature of the synthesized zirconium phosphate. The synthesized material has been used successfully as an acid catalyst in ethyl acetate hydrolysis reaction in liquid phase.