Cerium (III) Antimony phosphomolybdate: Heterogeneous catalyst in the Esterification Reaction

Abstract In the present article, we have synthesized a heteropoly acid salt named Cerium antimonophosphomolybdate (CeSbPMo), an inorganic compound with acid characteristics and an ion exchange capacity of 3.2 ± 0.2 meq/g. The catalyst after synthesis, characterized through a variety of methods, including FTIR, X‐ray diffraction crystallography, SEM/EDS and TGA. N 2 adsorption analysis provided information about the catalyst's surface area and distribution of pore sizes in the catalyst, indicating its potential for high catalytic activity. An esterification reaction between fatty acids and alcohol was catalyzed using the prepared compound. Catalytic efficiency was explored for different catalyst ranges from 3 wt% to 20 wt%, and the catalyst displayed remarkable catalytic performance even with just 3 wt%. The results demonstrated that the CeSbPMo (heteropoly acid salt), catalyst effectively promoted the esterification of palmitic and stearic acids on reacting with methanol at 100 ± 0.2 °C and 130 ± 0.2 °C. The impact of the acid to alcohol ratio was also studied for both fatty acids.