In situ impregnation of cobalt‐doped tungstophosphoric acid on MOF‐801 toward enhanced catalytic activity for esterification

Development of an energy‐efficient and economical route is necessary for society to synthesize green biofuels. Herein, cobalt‐doped tungstophosphoric acid (Co‐HPW) is in‐situ impregnated in the Zr‐based metal–organic framework (MOF‐801) forming composite of Co‐HPW/MOF‐801. The chemical composition, morphology, and acidic sites of the Co‐HPW/MOF‐801 composite were analyzed through x‐ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy‐dispersive x‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), N 2 physisorption, ammonia temperature‐programmed desorption (NH 3 ‐TPD), pyridine‐adsorbed infrared spectra (Py‐FTIR), and x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalytic performance of the as‐synthesized catalyst was explored to catalyze esterification of lauric acid (LA) with methanol. The outcomes revealed that the Co‐HPW/MOF‐801 nanocatalyst achieved a high conversion of 86.3% under the optimized reaction condition (catalyst amount of 0.15 g, temperature of 100°C, time of 4 h, and methanol/LA molar ratio of 20:1). The excellent catalytical performance is mainly due to the large BET surface area, exposure of more active centers from available pore structure, and simultaneous possession of high Lewis and Brønsted acidity. Furthermore, the kinetic study revealed that the reaction process was kinetically controlled and the activation energy was found to be 42.1 kJ/mol. The results suggest that the synthesized Co‐HPW/MOF‐801 nanocatalyst is an environmental greenness, low cost, and suitable for easy scale‐up for the production of biofuels.