Jin Hua Zhou

Synthesis of Solketal with Catalyst Sulfonic Acid Resin

Solketal is widely used as organic solvent, plasticizer and pharmaceutical intermediates. A synthetic technique for solketal, which is characteristic of being catalyzed by sulfonic acid resin, was developed. Experimental results showed that the suitable synthetic conditions for solketal were as follows: mass ratio of two kinds of raw materials, glycerol to acetone, is 1:20, catalyst DT-851 sulfonic acid resin dosage is 5% (wt, calculated by glycerol), reaction temperature is 58 °C and reaction time is 2 h. The product solketals yield is 95% with purity above 99% under the optimal conditions. This new technique features mild reaction conditions, easy purification, high yield, and less pollution and therefore, it is a kind of clean and green production technique.

One-Step Synthesis of Lemonile from Citral by Liquid Phase Catalytic Ammoxidation

Lemonile is a new kind of spice. The new technology for synthesis of lemonile from citral by catalytic ammoxidation has been investigated. Experimental results showed the optimal synthetic conditions are as follows. The molar material ratio n(H2O2):n(Citral) is 3:1, solvent for the reaction is isopropanol, dosage of the catalyst CuCl is 3% (wt, calculated by citral), the drop-feeding temperature and time for hydrogen peroxide are 10 °C-14 °C and 3 hrs, respectively; after hydrogen peroxide being drop-fed into the reaction system, the reaction should be continued for 4 hrs. Lemonile yield is 91.2% and purity is 98.5% (detected by GC) under the optimal conditions. This new one-step liquid phase catalytic ammoxidation technology is a green synthesis way for lemonile. The structure of the product has been confirmed by GC-MS.

Preparation of Fe-Ni/C Composite Catalyst for the Hydrazine Hydrate Catalytic Reduction

Hydrazine hydrate catalytic reduction (HHCR) is a green, eco-friendly method to reduce aromatic nitro compound to aromatic amine. Fe-Ni/C composite catalyst for HHCR was prepared. Preparation conditions of Fe-Ni/C composite catalyst were investigated taking o-chloronitrobenzene’s hydrazine hydrate catalytic reductions as the examples. Experimental results showed that the optimal conditions were as follows: preparation temperature is 50 °C, catalyst carrier is nitric acid treated activated carbon, w(Fe) is 5% and w(Ni) is 0.2%. During the preparation, ultrasonic treatment is also helpful to improve catalytic efficiency of Fe-Ni/C composite catalyst. The newly prepared Fe-Ni/C composite catalyst has combined the advantages of noble metal catalyst and iron-based catalyst and features good reduction selectivity and high catalytic efficiency.

A Solvent-Free Synthetic Technique for Epoxidized Methyl-α-Eleostearate Catalyzed by Cation Exchange Resin

Epoxidized methyl-α-eleostearate (EME) is a new kind of plant oil-based epoxidized aliphatic acid ester which starts from Tung oil. Tung oil is a special, but abundant biomass resource in China. A solvent-free synthetic technique for EME catalyzed by cation exchange resin was developed. Experimental results showed that the optimal synthetic conditions for EME were as follows: cation exchange resin dosage 5% (wt, calculated by methyl-α-eleostearate), material molar ratio of methyl-α-eleostearate, H2O2 and CH3COOH 1:5:2.5, reaction duration 3 h and reaction temperature 65 °C. EME epoxy value reaches 6.5% under the optimal preparation conditions. The newly developed green technique features low cost, simple operation, low energy consumption, less pollution, short production cycle and good quality and is promising to be industrialized.

A New Approach for the Synthesis of 6,7-Dihydro-5H-Cyclopenta[b]pyridine

A new practical and efficient route was developed for the synthesis of 6,7-dihydro-5H-cyclopenta[b]pyridine, which is a key intermediate of cefpirome. Leading to the formation of the corresponding product, nucleophilic addition, acetylization, Vilsmeier cyclization reaction and dechlorination were employed under mild reaction conditions by using commercially available cyclopentanone and benzylamine as raw materials. The total yield of this newly developed synthetic route for the target product was 43.15% with 99.7% of purity (HPLC). The structure of target molecular was confirmed by LC-MS and 1H NMR spectrum.

Modification of Polyurethane by Tung Oil Anhydride-Ester Polyol

Polyurethane (PU), one of the six main categories of synthetic resins, has been used extensively in industry all over the world. Tung oil anhydride-ester polyol (TOAEP), prepared from the China special vegetable oil, Tung oil, was introduced into PU structure. The mechanical property, heat-resistance and morphological structure of the modified PU were studied. Experimental results showed that the hardness and tensile strength of the modified PU increases as the dose of TOAEP increasing while the elongation at break decreases, and the heat-resistance has been improved after modification. The modified PU’s hard segment phase is compatible with the soft segment phase.

Synthesis of Tung Oil Anhydride-Ester Polyol

Tung oil is a special biomass resource in China. Tung Oil has the characteristic to be transformed into serial derivatives for its active Conjugated double bond. Especially, tung oil anhydride-ester polyol (TOAEP) can be used as substitute of polyester polyol and/or polyether polyol in the synthesis and modification of polyurethane materials. Through esterification and transesterification, methyl-α-eleostearate-maleic anhydride adduct (MEMAA), a derivative of tung oil, was reacted with ethylene glycol and tung oil anhydride-ester polyol (TOAEP) was obtained. The optimal preparation condition are as follows: p-toluene sufonic acid is used as the catalyst, mole ratio of ethylene glycol to MEMAA is 4:1, reaction temperature is 120°C ~130°C, reaction duration is 8 h. Under the optimal preparation conditions, the yield of TOAEP is up to 88.8% and the hydroxyl value is up to 318.0 mg KOH/g. The structure of TOAEP was confirmed by Infrared spectroscopy (IR).