Synthesis and characterization of pure ZnO and ZnO supported MgF2 for catalytic acylation of phenol

Abstract

The catalysts MgF₂ supported ZnO (0; 2.5; 5; 7.5; 10 and 15% w/w) were synthesized by sol-gel method. The structure of the catalysts were characterized by XRD. The acidity of the catalyst determined by pyridine-FTIR method showed that 7.5% ZnO/MgF₂ had the highest acidity. The surface area of the ZnO/MgF₂ was measured by N₂ adsorption-desorption method. The surface area of the ZnO/MgF₂ catalysts decrease with the increase in Zn content. The measurement S_BET of the catalysts was in range of 5.31 to 9.44 m²/g. The morphology of the catalyst was observed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The synthesized catalysts performance was tested in phenol acylation and were determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), which the main products were p-HAP (hydroxyacetophenone) and PA (phenyl acetate). The formation of p-HAP was influenced by the Lewis acid site, while PA was influenced by the Brønsted acid site. The highest conversion was achieved 85.36% by 7.5% ZnO/MgF₂, while the yields of the p-HAP and PA were 56.06 and 23.40% respectively.