One-pot synthesis of hierarchically porous Co₂O₃-WO₃/ZrO₂ solid acid catalyst and its application in phenol alkylation

A novel Co₂O₃-WO₃/ZrO₂ solid acid catalyst with hierarchically porous structure and high surface area was prepared by a one-pot co-hydrolysis approach involving a composite surfactant assisted hydrothermal process. All the catalysts were characterized by TEM, SEM, N₂-sorption, XRD and NH₃-TPD techniques. Typically, for the alkylation catalytic process of phenol with 1-dodecene, this ternary composite catalyst demonstrated a dodecene conversion as high as 94% and selectivity towards dodecylphenol production of 76% under the optimized reaction conditions. It is believed that the excellent catalytic activity and outstanding reusability should be attributed to the defined ternary composition and throughout three-dimensional hierarchical pore structure.