Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, Vol.422, 84-88, 2016
Heterogeneously-acid catalyzed oligomerization of glycerol over recyclable superacid Aquivion (R) PFSA
This manuscript explores the catalytic activity, selectivity and stability of Aquivion (R) PFSA PW98 in the oligomerization of glycerol. Aquivion (R) PFSA PW98 is a solid superacid catalyst with a Hammett acidity function of -12. Furthermore, the perfluorinated structure allows this polymer to stand quite high operating temperature (up to 150-160 degrees C) without loss in mechanical and chemical integrity which is of huge interest for glycerol conversion. In this context, we discovered that Aquivion (R) PFSA PW98 was nearly fully selective to oligoglycerols up to 80% conversion of glycerol. The oligomerization degree of oligoglycerol and the regioselectivity of the reaction (linear vs branched and cyclic isomers) were fully analyzed by means of GC and SEC chromatographies. In contrast to conventional solid acid catalysts, Aquivion (R) PFSA PW98 was found highly robust in glycerol and was sucessfully recycled least 10 times without apparent decrease in activity or selectivity. A comparison with Nafion NR 50 is also included to shed light on the potential of Aquivion (R) PFSA PW98 for acid-catalyzed conversion of glycerol. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.