Sucrose-mediated sol–gel synthesis of nanosized pure and S-doped zirconia and its catalytic activity for the synthesis of acetyl salicylic acid

•Nanosized pure and S-doped zirconia was prepared by sol–gel method.•In this method, zirconium acetylacetonate, Zr[CH3C(O)CHC(O)CH3]4 and sucrose were used as precursor and gel agent, respectively.•Catalyst properties of pure and S-doped ZrO2 were investigated for preparation of acetyl salicylic acid.

Nano-sized pure and S-doped zirconia was prepared by the sol–gel method in the presence of sucrose and zirconium(IV) acetylacetonate (Zr(acac)4) as a gelation agent and Zr4+ source, respectively. Acid catalyst activity of samples was tested for the production of acetyl salicylic acid from salicylic acid and acetic anhydride as precursors, The yield (64.0%) of acetylsalicylic acid was obtained from 50 mg of S-doped zirconia calcined at 550 °C and after a 3 h reaction, was comparably higher than the yield of the reaction (13.3%) in the absence of a catalyst and under the same reaction condition.

Graphical abstractDiagram illustration of step procedure for preparation of pure and S-doped zirconia nanoparticles.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide