β supported Fe2(MoO4)3: An efficient solid acidic heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of 2-Ethoxyethyl acetate

Abstract

A series of xFe2(MoO4)3/β catalysts with different loading of Fe2(MoO4)3 on the β zeolite were successfully prepared and used as catalysts for the synthesis of 2-ethoxyethyl acetate (EGEA) from ethyl acetate (EA) and 2-ethoxyethanol (EGEE). Fe2(MoO4)3 is successfully loaded on β zeolites according to the results of H2-TPR, UV–vis spectra, FT-IR spectra and XRD. According to the results of NH3-TPD and IR spectra of the pyridine adsorbed, the xFe2(MoO4)3/β has high proportion of medium to total acid density and bifunctional acids containing both Brønsted and Lewis acidic sites after the loading of Fe2(MoO4)3. The proportion of medium to total acid density increased from 30.9% to 44.58% with the Fe2(MoO4)3 loading increased from 0 to 13.3 wt%. The conversion of EGEE and selectivity to EGEA over 8.1%Fe2(MoO4)3/β are 74.8% and 100% respectively under the optimal reaction conditions, and the activity of 8.1%Fe2(MoO4)3/β almost maintained unchanged after 4 cycles. The high activity of 8.1%Fe2(MoO4)3/β is attributed to large specific surface area, the high proportion of medium-total acid density (44.58%), high Lewis/Brønsted ratio (3.86) and the synergistic action of the Brønsted and Lewis acidic sites.