Use of acetic acid as an acetylating agent of alcohol and phenols catalyzed by recyclable solid acid

L. PIZZIO; G. ROMANELLI; M. BLANCO

Acetic acid: chemical properties, production and applications

NOVA PUBLISHERS

Lugar: Nueva York; Año: 2013; p. 99 - 133

Acetic acid is one of the simplest carboxylic acids, and an important chemical reagent and industrial chemical for different uses. It is employed, for example, in the production of cellulose acetate and, in the food industry, diluted acetic acid acts as an acidity regulator and as a condiment. The global demand of acetic acid is very important, around 6.5 million tonnes per year. The acetylation reaction of organic compounds is one of the most frequently used transformations in organic synthesis. Among the various protected groups used for the hydroxyl function, the acetyl group is the most convenient in view of its easy introduction, being stable to the acidic reaction condition and also easily removable by mild alkaline hydrolysis. The most common and inexpensive reagent used to perform the acetylation is the acetic anhydride however, from an environmental point of view, a much convenient method for performing the acetylation is the use of acetic acid as acetylating agent, because only water is produced as by product, and it is a relative cheaper route for industrial purposes when compared to anhydrides or acid chlorides. In this chapter we reviewed the performance of different recyclable solid acids synthesized in our laboratory as catalysts for the use of acetic acid as acetylating agent.