Cerium(IV) phosphonates as solid Acid catalysts in esterification and transesterification reactions: Structural characterization and catalytic evaluation

Cerium(IV) phosphonates hybrid materials have been synthesized by sol-gel method and characterized for structural composition and surface morphology. The characterization techniques have revealed the presence of exchangeable protons in the structural hydroxyl (–OH) groups, which give the prepared cerium phosphonates protonating ability. In addition, catalyst characterization further supports the presence of Brønsted acidity. Therefore, it was aim to explore the catalytic behavior of these materials and compared by studying esterification as a model reaction in which some mono- and di-esters have been synthesized optimizing several parameters such as reaction time, catalyst amount and mole ratio of reagents. Interestingly, these materials have also been used as solid acid catalysts in transesterification reactions with phenol, demonstrating good catalytic efficiency. The detailed mechanism of solid acid-catalyzed esterification and transesterification has been elucidated with the aid of DRIFTS analysis. • Cerium(IV)Phosphonates have been synthesized using sol-gel route. • Different Phosphonic acids were taken as organic linker. • Synthesized materials have been characterized for structural elucidation and catalyst characterizations. • A catalytic behavior was explored by conducting esterification as model organic reaction. • Proposed mechanism was illustrated with help of DRIFTS analysis. • Transesterification of diesters with phenol has been performed for catalytic evaluation and further comparison.