Catalytic synthesis of octyl acetate without solvent under microwave irradiation

Octyl acetate was synthesized from acetic acid and n-octanol using sodium bisulfate monohydrate as catalyst without solvent under microwave irradiation.The effects of different factors such as molar ratio of reactants,catalyst dosage,microwave irradiation power and microwave irradiation time on the yield of octyl acetate were carefully investigated.The experimental results showed that sodium bisulfate monohydrate exhibited excellently catalytic activity.The optimum reaction conditions were as follows:0.1 mol n-octanol,molar ratio of n-octanol to acetic acid 1 ∶2.5,0.75% catalyst based on the total mass of the reactants,microwave irradiation power 450 W and radiation time 16 min.Under these conditions,the yield of octyl acetate was up to 91.2%.The catalyst could be reused.