Synthesis of n-Butyl Propionate Using SnCl_4/SiO_2 Catalyst

SnCl 4/SiO 2 was applied as a new catalyst to the esterification of propionic acid and n-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 and reaction time were studied. The optimum reaction conditions were as follows: propionic acid was 0.1 mol, molar ratio of n-butyl alcohol to propionic acid was 1.4∶1, amount of catalyst was 1.5 g, reaction time was 2 h. The conversion of propionic acid was 94.1 % under the optimum conditions.