Ionic liquid protected heteropoly acids for methanol dehydration

We report herein the synthesis of an organic-inorganic hybrid composed by the ionic liquid protected Keggin structure, as a precursor for acid catalyst and its subsequent application in the methanol dehydration reaction. Special attention was paid to the thermal stability of the resulted hybrids as a function of the Keggin anion. The catalytic behaviour of these new materials are also studied and compared to the metal salt Cs2HPW12O40. The prepared hybrids are less thermally stable than the metal salt, but their partial decomposition results in very active and selective catalysts for the dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether.