LAUSR

Sulfated zirconia mesopore has been successfully prepared from zirconyl oxychloride using structure directing agent cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and (NH4)2SO4. The preparation involved calcination at four different temperatures denoted as MZS (400, 500, 600, and 700 °C) and three different zirconyl-to-CTAB ratios (1:1, 3:1, and 9:1). Characterization of resulting zirconia was carried out using XRD method, TEM, gas sorption analyzer, and FTIR. The acidity of zirconia evaluated by ammonia adsorption. Calcination temperatures conducted at 500, 600, and 700 °C lead to crystalline structure and tetragonal phase. MZS-600 prepared at ratio 3:1 showed optimum specific surface area, pore diameter, and pore volume: 147.5 m2/g, 6.6 nm, and 0.396 cc/g, respectively. CTAB assisted larger pore size formation in zirconia along with higher surface area. The catalytic activity of sulfated zirconia mesopore was tested on lauric acid esterification. All sulfated zirconia mesopores prepared were able to give 99–100% conversion. The highest yield of methyl lauric 89.8% was achieved by MZS-600 prepared using CTAB to zirconyl ratio 9:1.