Application of novel immobilized ionic liquid in the hydrolysis of propylene carbonate

Immobilized ionic liquid catalyst(IL-Ala/SiO2)was prepared by sol-gel method with L-alanine as raw material and SiO2 as a supporter.This catalyst was characterized by FTIR,TG,13C NMR,1H NMR,XRD and TEM.Catalytic properties were studied in propylene carbonate(PC) hydrolysis.The results show that immobilized ionic liquid catalyst can efficiently catalyze propylene carbonate hydrolysis to produce 1,2-propylene glycol(PG).Reaction occurred under normal pressure,which could avoid a high pressure condition.The conversion rate of PC and the selectivity of PG were greater than 99% when catalyst weight content was 9%,reaction temperature was 140 ℃,and reaction time was 3.5 h.The catalyst could be used at least 5 times through simple separation and its activity only slightly changed.