Transesterification of glycerol trioleate catalyzed by basic ionic liquids immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles: Influence of pore diffusion effect

Supported ionic liquids have become a hotspot in heterogeneous catalysis. 1-Allyl-dodecylimidazolium hydroxide ([ADIm][OH]) basic ionic liquids immobilized on magnetic mesoporous SiO₂/CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles (SCF) and magnetic CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles (CF) were prepared and characterized via FTIR, XRD, TEM, TG-DTA, VSM, elemental analysis and N₂ adsorption-desorption measurements. Catalytic performance of both supported ionic liquids catalysts (SILCs) was evaluated through transesterification of glycerol trioleate. The SCF carrier consisted of mesoporous silica matrix and uniformly dispersed CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles, while CF carriers were nanosized CoFe₂O₄ particles with an average size of 15 nm. All of the carriers and the supported catalysts showed excellent paramagnetism. The two SILCs showed excellent catalytic activities higher than NaOH. Furthermore, the structure of the carriers had important influence on the catalytic performance of SILCs. Compared with the two SILCs, [ADIm][OH]/SCF presented a lower catalytic activity at the beginning of the reaction but higher catalytic activity when reaction time was long enough than [ADIm][OH]/CF due to the pore diffusion effect.