High‐Performance CNT ‐Reinforced Ion‐Exchange Resins for the Hydration of Ethylene Oxide

ABSTRACT The catalytic hydration of ethylene oxide (EO) to monoethylene glycol (MEG) is an industrially important process, but conventional ion‐exchange resin (IER) catalysts suffer from limited thermal stability and undesirable swelling. In this study, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are incorporated into a pyrrolidinium‐functionalized styrene‐divinylbenzene resin via in situ suspension polymerization to address these challenges. Comprehensive characterization confirms the effective CNT dispersion and strong interactions with the polymer matrix. The resulting CNT‐reinforced IER exhibits improved thermal stability, enhanced anti‐swelling capacity, and a notably lower exchange capacity loss compared with conventional IERs. In a fixed‐bed reactor for EO hydration, the bicarbonate‐form of CNT‐reinforced IER catalyst achieves over 97% EO conversion and 98% MEG selectivity under optimized conditions (90°C, 2.25 h −1 and a water‐to‐EO molar ratio of 11.20) and maintains stable performance over 2500 h. These results demonstrate that CNT reinforcement, combined with the pyrrolidinium functionality, provides a durable and highly selective catalyst for industrial EO hydration.