Solid acids and their use as environmentally friendly catalysts
in organic synthesis
Karen Wilson and James H. Clark
Green Chemistry Group, Department of Chemistry, University
of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
Abstract: Tightening environmental legislation is driving the
fine and speciality chemicals industries to consider alternative processes
that avoid the use of conventional mineral acids. The use of heterogeneous
catalysts in these processes would vastly simplify catalyst removal,
minimizing the amount of waste formed. However, diffusion limitation
of liquids within porous solids dictates that effective solid acids
for liquid-phase reactions require the use of mesoporous materials <20_100Å.
Recent developments in materials chemistry has led to the discovery
of a family of ordered mesoporous silicas which opens up new possibilities
for preparing solid-acid catalysts for liquid-phase reactions. This
review concentrates on recent developments in the synthesis of new mesoporous
solid acids for liquid-phase organic synthesis.
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