Esterification of the levulinic acid with n-butyl and isobutyl alcohols over aluminum-containing MCM-41

•MCM-41 mesoporous materials containing different values of Al synthesized and characterized.•The catalysts were applied to conversion of levulinic acid to n-butyl and isobutyl levulinates.•Under optimum conditions, 90% n-butyl and 89% isobutyl levulinates obtained.•The catalysts recycled and reuses several times.

In the present study, heterogeneous acid catalysts containing MCM-41 comprising different values of aluminum were synthesized and characterized by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area measurement (BET method), FT-IR spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and Tunneling Electron Microscopy (TEM). The catalytic applications of the materials were established for acid catalyzed esterification of levulinic acid and n-butyl and isobutyl alcohols. Effect of various reaction parameters such as reaction temperature, catalyst loading, acid/alcohol molar ratio and reaction time were studied to optimize the conditions for maximum yields. The selected catalyst shows the potential of being used as a recyclable catalytic material after simple regeneration without significant loss in its activity.