Synthesis of sulfonic acid-functionalized zirconium poly(Styrene-phenylvinyl-phosphonate)-phosphate for heterogeneous epoxidation of soybean oil

Abstract

In this paper, a solid acid catalyst (ZPS–PVPA–SO3 H) was prepared by anchoring thiol group on zirconium poly(styrene-phenylvinyl-phosphonate)-phosphate (ZPS–PVPA), followed by oxidation of thiol groups to obtain sulfonic acid groups. The solid acid catalyst was characterized by XPS, X-ray, EDS, SEM, and TG-DSC. The successful preparation of sulfonic acid-functionalized ZPS–PVPA was confirmed. Subsequently, the catalytic performance of ZPS–PVPA–SO3 H was investigated in the epoxidation of soybean oil. The results demonstrated that ZPS–PVPA–SO3 H can effectively catalyze epoxidation of soybean oil with TBHP as an oxidant. Moreover, there was no significant decrease in catalytic activity after 5 repeated uses of the ZPS–PVPA–SO3 H. Interestingly, the ZPS–PVPA–SO3 H was kept in 2 mol/L of HCl overnight after the end of the seventh reaction, and the catalytic activity was gradually restored during the eighth to tenth cycles.