Due to its superacidic character, high thermal stabioity and chemical resistance, Nafion^(R)NR50 is a very promising catalyst for a wide range of acid-catalyzed reactions. However, its application is ofter limited by its extremely low specific surface area. A new class of solid acid catalysts Nafion/SiO2 with meso-pore structure has been developed using an in situ sol-gel technique, where solutions of Nafion resin were mixed with soluble silicon surces of tetraethylorthosilicate to form a gel. The gel was then dried to give a clear hard glass-like material. These new porous materials showed significantly enhanced activity due to increased accessibility of the Nafion resin-based acid sites. BET, FTIR, TG, SEM and EDX indicated that Nafion resin nanoporrticles were completely trapped and highly dispersed within a porous silica network. NH3-TPD disclosed that the materials have four groups of acidic sites and that the thermal stability of SO3H groups was different.

Key words: CATALYST, SILICON OXIDE, SOL-GEL PROCESS, SOLID ACID, THERMAL STABILITY