Mesoporous silica-anchored organotin as heterogeneous catalyst for the transesterification of dimethyl carbonate with phenol

摘要

A simple scheme for a mesoporous silica-anchored organotin catalyst was developed for the transesterification of dimethyl carbonate with phenol to diphenyl carbonate. N-2-sorption, TEM, UV-Vis, and elemental analysis combined with Si-29 and C-13 NMR measurements evidenced the formation of mesoporous organic-inorganic hybrid silica with a highly dispersed tetrahedral Sn species. The catalyst exhibited excellent activity and reusability in the transesterification. With a catalyst of 1.0 g, a reaction temperature of 150-180 degrees C, and a reaction time of 9 h, the phenol conversion and transesterification selectivity reached 51.1 and 99.9 %, respectively. The phenol conversion just decreased from 41.2 to 35.0 % after five runs with 0.5 g of catalyst. The improved stability was attributed to the strong covalent bonding between the organotin and mesoporous silica.