A New Sulfonic Acid-Functionalized Organic Polymer Catalyst for the Synthesis of Biomass-Derived Alkyl Levulinates

Alkyl levulinates are important biobased chemicals with great fuel-blending properties and good reactivity. In this work, a new functionalized nitrogen-containing organic polymer bearing sulfonic acid groups (PDVTA-SO3H) was successfully prepared and studied for the esterification of levulinic acid with alcohols to produce alkyl levulinates. The results showed that this sulfonic acid-functionalized organic polymer possessed high catalytic activity, and the yield of n-butyl levulinate reached 97.4% under the mild conditions. PDVTA-SO3H exhibited strong acidic sites and high stability, and would be well expected to be a potential candidate better than some commercial sulfonic solid catalysts for alkyl levulinates production. The catalyst had been reused without any treatment for five times and the results proved its potential for industrial applications. A new sulfonic acid-functionalized organic polymer showed high activity in the conversion of biomass derived levulinic acid into alkyl levulinates.