Simple fabrication of magnetically separable mesoporous carbon sphere with excellent catalytic performance for biodiesel production

•Magnetic mesoporous carbon sphere owns superiority in separation for recycle.•It owns superior mesoporosity and uniform spherical morphology.•It exhibits satisfactory catalytic property for biodiesel production.•The solid acid presents outstanding renewability.

Considering the problem of separation of carbon-based powder solid acid, facile separation of solid acid shows the superiority for recycling. A novel and magnetically separable mesoporous carbon sphere (MMCS−SO3H) solid acid catalyst was prepared by sulfonation of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticle composited mesoporous carbon sphere with organic sulfonic acid. The results of N2 adsorption–desorption technology and electron microscopy show that this MMCS−SO3H solid acid owns superior mesoporous structure and uniform spherical morphology. The solid acid possesses high acidity of 1.73 mmol H+/g and SO3H density of 1.08 mmol/g, which favor this solid acid exhibiting satisfactory catalytic property for the esterification of oleic acid. The influences of reaction temperature and molar ratio of MeOH/OA on catalytic performance of catalyst were also systematically investigated. In addition, the carbon-based solid acid exhibited excellently catalytic stability and recycling property.

Graphical abstractMagnetically separable mesoporous carbon sphere solid acid with superior catalytic property and uniform spherical morphology was successfully prepared via a facile route.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide