Efficiently and directly produce triacetylglycerol from oils and fats over mesoporous polymeric solid acid catalysts

Abstract

A series of mesoporous solid acid catalysts (PDS-x) with large BET surface area, superior thermal stability, strong sulfonic acid groups and tunable Brønsted acidity were synthesized by the copolymerization of divinylbenzene (DVB) and sodium p-styrenesulfonate (SPSS). The PDS-x catalysts showed high activity on the direct and efficient production of triacetylglycerol (TAG) via acyl exchange reaction of oils (fats) and acetic acid. The highest TAG yield of 93.0 mol% was obtained on the PDS-x catalysts at a mild condition of 200 °C. By combining SEM, TEM, FT-IR/DRIFTS, BET, XRD, XPS, EA, 31P MAS NMR and TG-DTG, the key factors that affected the TAG yield were clarified on the PDS-x catalysts. Moreover, the origin of the slow deactivation on these catalysts was elucidated. The large BET surface area and abundant mesopores of catalysts allowed the contact of large-sized oils (fats) with the strong sulfonic acid groups, accounting for the high TAG yield.