Alkylation of phenol with tert-butyl alcohol over zirconium incorporated mesoporous molecular sieves with enhanced acidity

Several SO42−/Zr-MCM-41 and SO42−/Zr-MCM-48 solid acid catalysts were prepared by wet impregnation method and were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, NH3-TPD and N2 physical adsorption, respectively. The catalytic activities of these catalysts were evaluated in alkylation reaction of phenol and tert-butyl alcohol. Experimental results reveal that the four solid acid catalysts still maintained a typical mesoporous framework. Under comparable condition, the SO42−/Zr-MCM-48-25 catalyst exhibits much high catalytic activity and gives the highest phenol conversion as compared with the other catalysts. A maximum phenol conversion of 91.6% with 81.8% selectivity to 4-tert-butylphenol (4-TBP) was achieved at the reaction temperature of 140 °C.