AN EXTREMELY ACTIVE SOLID ACID CATALYST, NAFION RESIN SILICA COMPOSITE, FOR THE FRIEDEL-CRAFTS BENZYLATION OF BENZENE AND P-XYLENE WITH BENZYL ALCOHOL/

Nafion resin, a recently developed Nafion resin/silica composite, and triflic acid are very effective catalysts for the Friedel-Crafts benzy lation of benzene (at 80 degrees C) and p-xylene (at 100 degrees C) wi th p-methylbenzyl alcohol under ambient pressure. The composite is nea rly 2 orders of magnitude more active than plain Nafion resin beads an d even more active than the strong triflic acid based on the same amou nt of acid groups in the catalysts. The commercial Amberlyst-15 resin catalyst and p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA) are inactive catalysts. Fl owing nitrogen through the reactor to carry out the byproduct water wa s found to be very beneficial for driving the benzylation reaction to completion.