Catalytic activity of the beta zeolite with enhanced textural properties in the Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds

Abstract

Friedel-Crafts acylation is widely used for the production of aromatic ketones applied as intermediates in both fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. The reaction is carried out by using conventional homogenous catalysts, which represents significant technical and environmental problems. The present work reports the results obtained in the Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic substrates (anisole and 2-methoxynaphthalene) catalyzed by Beta zeolite obtained by crystallization of silanized seeds. This material exhibits hierarchical porosity and enhanced textural properties. For the anisole acylation, the catalytic activity over the conventional Beta zeolite is slightly higher than with the modified Beta material, probably due to the relatively small size of this substrate and the weaker acidity of the last sample. However, the opposite occurred in the acylation of a bulky substrate (2-methoxynaphthalene), with the modified Beta showing a higher conversion. This result is interpreted due to the presence of a hierarchical porosity in this material, which favors the accessibility to the active sites.