Acid–base and catalytic properties of sulfated mesoporous titanium oxide in glycerol oligomerization

What is it about?

The structural and spectral characteristics of sulfated spherical mesoporous titanium dioxide (TiO2-S), obtained by hydrothermal sol–gel synthesis in the presence of sulfuric acid, are studied by XRD, SEM, BET, and IR spectroscopy. The acid–base and catalytic characteristics of TiO2-S and commercial TiO2 in the oligomerization of glycerol are compared. The activation of glycerol on the surface of the catalysts is studied by attenuated total reflectance Fourier IR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). It is found the high selectivity for diglycerides in the oligomerization of glycerol is determined by the presence of strong base sites on the surface of TiO2-S.

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