Catalysis Letters, Vol.146, No.7, 1182-1193, 2016
N-Alkylation of Alkylolamines with Alcohols Over Mesoporous Solid Acid-Base Cs-B-Zr Catalyst
The mesoporous solid acid-base Cs-B-Zr mixed oxides were synthesized using the co-precipitation method followed by a subsequent thermal treatment. The catalytic activity of solid Cs-B-Zr mixed oxide was tested for solvent free acid-base catalysed direct alkylolamines with alcohols as green alkylating agent. The effects of Cs/B/Zr ratio, calcination temperature, reaction conditions, and reaction substrate on the catalytic performance of the catalysts were investigated. The XRD, N-2 adsorption-desorption, ICP-OES, FT-IR and NH3/CO2-TPD results showed that the mesoporous structure and acid-base properties of the catalysts play important roles in the reaction. A suitable number of acid and basic sites on the catalyst lead to a high activity for the N-alkylation reaction.