ω-Sulfonic-perfluoroalkylated poly(styrene–maleic anhydride)/silica hybridized nanocomposite as a new kind of solid acid catalyst

A new kind of ω -sulfonic-perfluoroalkylated poly(styrene–maleic anhydride)/silica hybrid nanocomposite FSMA/SiO 2 has been synthesized under mild conditions by perfluoroalkylation of styrene–maleic anhydride copolymer (SMA) with ω -fluorosulfonylperfluorodiacyl peroxides (SFAP), and followed in turn by aminolysis using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES), alkali hydrolysis, gelation with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and finally acidification. The hybrid solid acid FSMA/SiO 2 with terminal perfluoroalkylsulfonic and carboxyl groups was characterized by FTIR, SEM, TEM, TGA, XPS, EDX, acidimetry and nitrogen sorption technique. Its pore structure, acid strength and acid amount were easily modulated by controlling the gelation and perfluoroalkylation conditions. The catalytic activity and selectivity, as well as reusability of FSMA/SiO 2 were tested in three important reactions, namely, cyclization of pseudoionone, condensation of indole and esterification of benzoic acid. Owing to the higher exchange capacity than that of Nafion/SiO 2 , and the stronger acidity than that of Amberlyst-15, the nanocomposite FSMA/SiO 2 showed higher activity and selectivity than these commercial solid acids in the reactions.