Catalytic Properties of Metal Sulfates Supported on γ-Al2O3 in the Liquid-Phase Isopropylation of m-Cresol with Propylene

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
γ-Al2O3 was impregnated with various metal sulfates, calcined, and used as catalysts in the liquid-phase isopropylation of m-cresol at 250–300 °C, with the propylene pressure in the range from 15 to 79 kg/cm2. The catalytic activities of the sulfates were in the order: Al2(SO4)3>ZnSO4≈NiSO4>FeSO4>CuSO4>Li2SO4≈ none≈CaSO4>Na2SO4. The order of the selectivity Φ for ortho-isopropylation over para-isopropylation was opposite to that of the catalytic activity. FeSO4/Al2O3 catalysts resulted in the best Φ value and fairly high activity, which were independent of the calcination temperature over the range of 300–500 °C. The formation of Brønsted acidic sites with 1≤H0≤3 as catalytically-active sites was estimated for the FeSO4/Al2O3 and ZnSO4/Al2O3 catalysts.