Preparation of highly ordered mesoporous AlSBA-15–SO3H hybrid material for the catalytic synthesis of chalcone under solvent-free condition

Single-step preparation of SBA-15 materials functionalized with both propylsulfonic acid groups and aluminum species (AlSBA-15–SO3H) was carried out by hydrothermal treatment of a mixture of aluminum isopropoxide, 3-mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane, tetraethoxysilane, and triblock copolymer surfactant. At Si/Al molar ratio of 11–96, the materials exhibited well-ordered hexagonally arranged mesopores with pore diameter of ca. 9 nm, BET surface area of 546.9–666.0 m2 g−1, and pore volume of 0.82–1.03 cm3 g−1. As-prepared AlSBA-15–SO3H was successfully used in the Claisen–Schmidt condensation reaction of benzaldehyde with acetophenone to produce chalcone under solvent-free condition, and the influence of the reaction parameters including temperatures, molar ratios of BZD to APN, and aluminum loadings were considered during the chalcone synthesis procedure. It showed that AlSBA-15–SO3H exhibited significantly high catalytic activity and selectivity, outperforming the reference catalysts such as sulfuric acid, ZSM-5, and acidic MCM-49. In addition, the catalytic stability and regeneration of AlSBA-15–SO3H was studied.