Preparation of SO₄^2-/ZrOZrO₂-Nd₂O₃ Solid Acid Catalyst and Its Catalytic Activities

SO42-/ZrO2-Nd2O3 solid acid was prepared by using collagen fibers as template, zirconium sulfate as zirconium source and doping with rare earth element Nd. The as-prepared SO42-/ZrO2-Nd2O3 were characterized by TG, XRD, FT-IR、SEM and N2 adsorption-desorption analysis so as to investigate the influence of preparation conditions on the catalyst structure. The results reveal that the fibrous structures of collagen fibers are preserved in the SO42-/ZrO2-Nd2O3 solid acid. The growth of the ZrO2-Nd2O3 particles can be efficiently suppressed by Nd doping. The diameters of ZrO2-Nd2O3 particles are distributed in the range of 5.1~11.6 nm. The BET surface area of SO42-/ZrO2-Nd2O3 solid acid is 63.96 m2/g. The esterification of acetic acid with n-butanol was carried out as a model reaction to calculate the catalytic properties of SO42-/ZrO2-Nd2O3 solid acid. The SO42-/ZrO2-Nd2O3 solid acid exhibits high catalytic activity. Furthermore, the conversion rate of acetic acid can reach 85% in the fifth cycle, which showsthe satisfied reusability, thus showing a potential industrial application.