Peanut Shell-Derived Carbon Solid Acid with Large Surface Area and Its Application for the Catalytic Hydrolysis of Cyclohexyl Acetate

A carbon solid acid with large surface area (CSALA) was prepared by partial carbonization of H₃PO₄ pre-treated peanut shells followed by sulfonation with concentrated H₂SO₄. The structure and acidity of CSALA were characterized by N₂ adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), 13C cross polarization (CP)/magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), titration, and elemental analysis. The results demonstrated that the CSALA was an amorphous carbon material with a surface area of 387.4 m²/g. SO₃H groups formed on the surface with a density of 0.46 mmol/g, with 1.11 mmol/g of COOH and 0.39 mmol/g of phenolic OH. Densities of the latter two groups were notably greater than those observed on a carbon solid acid (CSA) with a surface area of 10.1 m²/g. The CSALA catalyst showed better performance than the CSA for the hydrolysis of cyclohexyl acetate to cyclohexanol. Under optimal reaction conditions, cyclohexyl acetate conversion was 86.6% with 97.3% selectivity for cyclohexanol, while the results were 25.0% and 99.4%, respectively, catalyzed by CSA. The high activity of the CSALA could be attributed to its high density of COOH and large surface area. Moreover, the CSALA showed good reusability. Its catalytic activity decreased slightly during the first two cycles due to the leaching of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-containing SO₃H groups, and then remained constant during following uses.