Preparation of Zirconium Phosphate Nanoparticles and Its Application in the Protection of Aldehydes

A novel method for the preparation of α-zirconium phosphate (ZrP) nanoparticles as an eco-friendly and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst was studied. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used as the organic matrix which produced a better dispersion of ZrP nanoparticles. The catalyst was characterized by several physico-chemical techniques such as ICP-OES, XRD, TPD-NH3, pyridine-FTIR, BET, FTIR, TGA, SEM and TEM. The acidic property of ZrP was studied in the protection of aldehydes with acetic anhydride (AA) in the at room temperature. The deprotection of 1,1-diacetates has also been achieved using this catalyst in water. The procedure is operationally simple, environmentally benign and only a stoichiometric amount of AA is used. The catalyst was recovered easily from the reaction mixture, regenerated, and reused at least eight times without significant loss in catalytic activity.