Catalyzed Synthesis of Ethyl Phenylacetate by S_2O_8~(2-)/ ZrO_2-PrO_2-Ti_O2 Rare-earth Solid Superacid

Ethyl phenylacetate was synthesized with phenylacetic acid and ethanol by rare-earth solid superacid S2O82-/ ZrO2-PrO2-TiO2 as catalyst.The influencing factors were examined including catalyst weight,molar ratio of phenylacetic acid to ethanol and reaction time.The results show that the appropriate conditions are as follow: n(phenylacetic acid):n(ethanol) =1:5,weight of catalyst 1.5 g(based on 0.1 mole phenylacetic acid),reaction time 6h.The yield of ethyl phenylacetate was about 88 %,in which the rare-earth solid superacid S2O82-/ ZrO2-PrO2-TiO2 satisfies catalytic activity for the reaction and the catalyst can be used repeatedly.