Effectively synthesizing so4/tio2 catalyst and its performance for converting ethanol into diethyl ether (Dee)

This SO4/TiO2 catalyst as a heterogeneous acidic catalyst was synthesized in various concentrations of H2SO4 . The activity and selectivity of the SO4/TiO2 catalyst on the dehydration reaction of ethanol to diethyl ether were studied as well. The SO4/TiO2 was prepared from TiO2 powder by wet impregnation method with a various aqueous solution of H2SO4 (1; 2; 3 M H2SO4 ) and calcination temperature (400, 500, and 600◦C) to obtain a catalyst with optimum acidity. The catalysts were characterized using FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDX, SAA, TGA/DSC, and acidity test gravimetrically with ammonia. The liquid product of DEE was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) to analyze the selectivity of the catalyst. The catalyst TS-3-400 had the highest activity and selectivity in the dehydration reaction of ethanol to diethyl ether at a temperature of 225◦C, with a conversion of 51.83 and a DEE selectivity of 1.72. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.