Synthesis of Cyclohexyl Acetate with Copper p-Toluene Sulfonate as Catalyst

Catalytic esterification reaction of acetic acid with cyclohexanol by copper p-toluene sulfonate has been studied. The effect of different factors such as the molar ratio of cyclohexanol to acetic acid, the dosage of catalyst, reaction time and the amount of water-carrying agent on the yield of cyclohexyl acetate were investigated. The experiment results showed that the optimum reaction conditions were as follows: when the amount of acetic acid was 0.2mol, the molar ratio of cyclohexanol to acetic acid was 1.4, the dosage of copper p-toluene sulfonate was 1.2g, cyclohexane as the water-carrying agent was 15mL, reflux time was 60min. Under the above-mentioned conditions, the esterification yield reached to 96.7%. High activity of catalyst could be maintained even after repeated use for seven times.