ALKYLATION OF PHENOL USING TERT-BUTANOL OVER MODIFIED CLAY CATALYSTS

Fe-bentonite is used as a catalyst for the alkylation of phenol using tert-butanol. Bentonite was modified by loading with the known concentrations of Fe/Zn/Zr. Series of catalysts such as Fe-bentonite, Zn-bentonite and Zr-bentonite were prepared by ion-exchange method and were used for the synthesis of p-tert-butylphenol (PTBP) by alkylation of phenol with tert-butylalcohol (TBA) in a batch process. Fe-bentonite was found to be an excellent catalyst with 100% TBA conversion and 81% selectivity for PTBP at 80°C. All the catalysts have been analyzed by different characterization methods, FTIR, XRD, TEM, SEM, and BET. The effect of various parameters like catalyst screening, reaction time, temperature, and the molar ratio of the reagents have been tested to obtain the best conversion and selectivity for the desired product.