Highly selective synthesis of t-butyl-p-cresol (TBC) by t-butylation of p-cresol with t-butyl alcohol over microporous and mesoporous catalysts

A much green synthesis method is discovered for the synthesis of t-butyl-p-cresol (TBC), an important used as antioxidant in food industries and the basic raw material for the manufacture of oil-soluble phenol–formaldehyde resins. The TBC is synthesized with a conversion (93.2%) and selectivity (98.6%) through a heterogeneous t-butylation of p-cresol with t-butyl alcohol (t-BuOH) in the liquid phase over mild strong acid catalyst, Zn–Al-MCM-41(75). The catalytic results have also compared with those obtained using other Zn–Al-MCM-41, Al-MCM-41, HY, Hβ, H-mordenite and H-ZSM-5 zeolites. Based on the catalytic results, Zn–Al-MCM-41(75) is found to be a highly active and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for selective synthesis of TBC.

Graphical abstractA novel mesoporous Zn–Al-MCM-41 is found to be a highly active and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst suitable for the selective synthesis of TBC by t-butylation of p-cresol with butyl alcohol having much higher acidity and activity than other catalysts, such as Al-MCM-41(21), USY, Hβ, H-ZSM-5 and H-mordenite. Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide