Composites prepared from silica gel and furfuryl alcohol with p-toluenesulfphonic acid as the catalyst

Composites of furfuryl alcohol and silica gel or Aerosil were prepared using p-toluenesulphonic acid as catalyst at room temperature. The molar ratio furfuryl alcohol/p-toluensulphonic acid was varied between 64.7 and 10. The surface of silica gel was partially coated when composite was prepared with the lower quantity of acid while the use of the higher proportion of acid produces the start of particle agglutination. The thickness of the polymer layer completely coating the surface of the composites ranged between around 10 to 39 A. Preliminary results suggest that composites could be used as adsorbent of organic pollutants from water.