Synthesis and characterization of Mo doped hierarchically porous SO₄^2-/ZrO₂ solid acid catalyst

A novel hierarchically porous molybdenum-promoted SO₄^2-/ZrO₂ solid acid with nanocrystallized framework of tetragonal phase and high surface area has been synthesized via a composite surfactant-assisted route combined with a hydrothermal treatment process. The XRD, N₂-adsorption, TEM, and FT-IR pyridine adsorption were used for the structural analysis and acidic characterization. The results show that the novel mesoporous solid acid exhibits classical tetragonal phase and excellent catalytic performance in the esterification reaction of acetic acid with n-butanol and can preserve the acid better than normal solid acids after several recycle experiments. This hierarchically zirconia solid acid has a good potential as catalysts in some chemical reactions such as esterification.