Synthesis of Sec-Butyl Acetate by SnCl_4/SiO_2 Catalyst

SnCl 4/SiO 2 was applied as a new catalyst to the esterification of acetic acid and sec-butyl alcohol. It has high activity and excellent selectivity as well as no corrosion to the facilities. Various reaction parameters such as ratio of alcohol to acid, catalyst amount, reaction time and reaction temperature were carefully studied. The optimum reaction conditions were: molar ratio of acetic acid to sec-butyl alcohol 1.8∶1, amount of catalyst was 1.5 g, reaction time was 6 h, reaction temperature 150 ℃. The conversion of acetic acid reached 89.31 % and the selectivity of esterification was 100% under the optimum conditions.