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.