Synthesis of Magnetic Sulfonated Carbon/Fe3O4/Palygorskite Composites and Application as a Solid Acid Catalyst

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Abstract
Sulfonated carbon is a green, solid acid catalyst but its surface area, separation, and recovery after utilization need to be improved. The objective of the present study was to provide an environmentally friendly and economical method to prepare magnetic sulfonated carbon composite catalyst with a large surface area using palygorskite (Plg) as the support. A magnetic sulfonated carbon/Fe3O4/Plg composite catalyst was prepared via simultaneous calcination and sulfonation of the mixture of source, p-toluenesulfonic acid (TsOH), and Fe3O4/Plg. Fe3O4 nanoparticles and Plg nanorods were encased by a carbon layer derived from sucrose and TsOH. The composite catalyst exhibited good magnetic properties and high catalytic performance for the esterification of oleic acid with methanol. Oleic acid conversion reached 88.69% after the first catalytic cycle. Plg nanorods replaced sucrose and increased the catalyst’s surface area. The introduction of Fe3O4 nanoparticles improved further the acid content and oleic-acid conversion and achieved 70.31% after five cycles. The catalyst was recycled easily using an external magnetic field and its magnetic property remained unchanged due to the protection of the carbon layer.
Funding Information
  • Six Talent Peaks Project in Jiangsu Province (2018-JNHB-009)
  • Science and Technology Innovative Research Team in Higher Educational Institutions of Hunan Province (19KJA430015)
  • the Foundation of Key Laboratory for Palygorskite Science and Applied Technology of Jiangsu Province (HPZ202001)
  • National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Mineral Salt Deep Utilization (SF201906, SF202103)

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