Alkylation of Catechol with tert-Butyl Alcohol Catalyzed by Mesoporous Acidic Montmorillonite Heterostructure Catalysts

The liquid phase alkylation of catechol with tert-butyl alcohol to produce 4-tert-butyl catechol (4-TBC) was carried out over MCM-41, HZSM-5, H-exchanged montmorillonite and novel acidic porous montmorillonite heterostructures (PMHs). Upon all catalysts tested, 4-TBC is the main product and 3-tert-butyl catechol (3-TBC) and 3,5-di-tert-butyl catechol are the side products. The synthetic PMHs showed higher conversion of catechol and better selectivity to 4-TBC compared to other solid acid catalysts tested. Over the PMHs derived from H-exchanged montmorillonite through template extraction processes, the suitable reaction temperature is ca 410 K, the ratio of catechol to tert-butyl alcohol is 1:2. Increasing the amount of catalyst (lower weight hourly space velocity) can improve the conversion of catechol and influence the selectivity slightly. The reasonable reaction time is ca 8 h.The type and strength of acidity of H-montmorillonite and PMH were determined by pyridine adsorption FT-IR and ammonia temperature-programmed desorption techniques. The medium and strong acid sites are conducive to producing 4-TBC and the weak acid sites to facilitating the 3-TBC formation. The differences between the PMHs from calcination and those fi'om extraction are attributed to proton migration and acidity change in the gallery surface.