Highly effective synthesis of methyl glycolate with heteropolyacids as catalysts

Methyl glycolate (MG) was synthesized successfully from the carbonylation of HCHO using heteropolyacids (HPAs) as catalysts, followed by esterification with methanol. The catalytic activities of different HPAs and effect of solvents and water amount in the reaction system were investigated with an autoclave under optimized reaction conditions. The stability and reusability of the catalysts were tested after separating the ingredients from the reaction system by distillation under vacuum. MG yield above 89% could be obtained when H3PW12O40 and sulfolane are employed as catalyst and solvent, respectively. The performance of catalysts did not show any significant deterioration after 10 times recycle.