Synthesis and characterization of Ce-SBA-15 supported cesium catalysts and their catalytic performance for synthesizing methyl acrylate

A series of Ce-SBA-15 mesoporous materials were synthesized through a direct hydrothermal method and further impregnated with different amounts of Cs. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, NH3-TPD, CO2-TPD, FT-IR and N2adsorption–desorption isotherm analyses. The XRD and N2adsorption–desorption isotherm results showed that the Ce successfully incorporated into the framework of SBA-15, which was favorable for the generation of mesoporous materials with high specific surface areas, large pore volumes and narrow pore size distribution. The incorporation of Ce changed the acid–base properties of the support and promoted the dispersion of Cs species. NH3–CO2TPD results indicated that a number of medium-strong acid and base sites existed in the 10Cs/Ce-SBA-15(10) catalyst, which made it suitable as a catalyst for the aldol condensation of methyl acetate with formaldehyde to prepare methyl acrylate.