LAUSR

Abstract Highly active heterogeneous catalysts are in high demand, but realizing an efficient heterogeneous catalyst with uniform active sites remains challenging. In this study, we present a facile preparation of carboxylic acid-incorporated monodisperse microparticles (COOH-MPs) with uniform active sites and their successful application as an efficient solid acid catalyst for aldol condensation. The micromolding integrated with UV-induced photopolymerization enables one-step preparation of COOH-MPs without any further purification or treatment. The successful fluorescent labeling of the COOH-MPs achieved by EDC/NHS (1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC)/n-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS)) chemistry proves that carboxylic acids are uniformly incorporated throughout the COOH-MPs. The microparticle as a solid acid catalyst is applied for aldol condensation and the catalytic performance is compared with that of conventional inorganic solid acid catalysts. The selectivity for jasminaldehyde over the COOH-MPs is higher than that of conventional catalysts, zeolite H-beta (HBEA with different SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 ratios). Overall, the results clearly indicate the potential of this new class of chemically uniform and monodisperse microparticle-based solid acid catalysts for aldol condensation. This approach is highly promising for the application to preparations of various solid catalysts due to its reproducibility, tunability and simplicity.