Highly effective synthesis of methyl glycolate with heteropolyacids as catalysts

Abstract

Methyl glycolate (MG) was synthesized successfully from the carbonylation of HCHO using heteropoly- acids (HPAs) as catalysts, followed by esterification with methanol. The catalytic activities of different HPAs and effect of solvents and water amount in the reaction system were investigated with an autoclave under optimized reaction conditions. The stability and reusability of the catalysts were tested after sep- arating the ingredients from the reaction system by distillation under vacuum. MG yield above 89% could be obtained when H3PW12O40 and sulfolane are employed as catalyst and solvent, respectively. The per- formance of catalysts did not show any significant deterioration after 10 times recycle.