Synthesis of butyl acetate with gallium oxide supported on silicagel as heterogeneous esterification catalyst

A novel heterogeneous esterification catalyst,gallium oxide supported on silica gel was prepared for the first time,which was obtained through loading concentration of Ga2O3 20%,calcinating at 500 ℃ for 2 h.The effects of various parameters such as catalyst dosage,molar ratio of n-butanol to acetic acid,amount of cyclohexane,reaction time and reusability of catalyst on esterification rate were investigated.The results indicated that the optimized conditions of synthesizing butyl acetate were:acetic acid 0.2 mol,molar ratio of n-butanol to acetic acid 1.8,dosage of catalyst 1.25 g,reaction time 1 h.The catalytic performance could exhibit high activity with the esterification rate over 99.62%.