Synthesis Of Nonylnaphthol Ethoxylate Ether And Its Solution Properties

The synthesis method of nonylnaphthol, an intermediate of nonylnaphthol ethoxylate ether, has been studied, and the properties of nonylnaphthol ethoxylate solution are also researched.In this paper, the reaction conditions for alkylation of 2-naphthol and tripropylene on four different acid catalysts such as active clay,exchange resin NKC-9,zeolites and ionic liquid, are optimized. The optimal alkylation conditions with catalyst active clay are:1:2 for 2-naphthol to tripropylene, dosage of catalyst active clay 30%, reaction time 10 hours, reaction temperature 100~110℃, and then 42.9% yield of nonylnaphthol can be obtained. The optimal alkylation conditions with catalyst exchange resin NKC-9 are as follows:1.5:1 for 2-naphthol to tripropylene, dosage of catalyst NKC-9 10%, reaction time 6 hours and reaction temperature 100℃, the yield of nonylnaphthol can be reached 60%.Comparative studies on the catalytic properties of H-beta, H-Y and H-ZSM5 zeolites are carried out under identical conditions for alkylation of 2-naphthol and tripropylene. The results show that H-beta zeolite exhibits outstanding catalytic performance under the optimal reaction conditions as 1:2:50 = 2-naphthol: tripropylene: cyclohexane within the boiling range temperature of cyclohexane, and the conversion and selectivity of 2-naphthol are 52.1% and 86.3% respectively. It is found that the pore structure and the acidic strength of zeolite catalysts are the major influencing factors for the conversion and selectivity of 2-naphthol.The optimal alkylation conditions with ionic liquid [BMIM] BF4 are as follows:2:1 for 2-naphthol to tripropylene, dosage of catalyst [BMIM] BF4 41.7 %( about 5ml), reaction time 2 hours and reaction temperature 100℃. Consequently, 86% yield and 100% selectivity of nonylnaphthol can be obtained. It has been testified that the separated ionic liquid catalyst still keep its catalysis after six times circular reusing.Having compared the effects of four catalysts, it is sure that there are low yield of nonylnaphthol and long reaction time when using the active clay. Although there are high yield of nonynaphthol when using exchange resin NKC-9, the solvent chlorobenzene is unfriendly for environment. It is environmental friendliness when using zeolite Hbeta, but the conversion of 2-napthol is lower. Ionic liquid [BMIM] BF4 is the best catalyst for alkylation of 2-naphthol with tripropylene. High yield and selectivity of nonylnaphthol,short reaction time,excellent solubility,reusable and environment-friendly are the advantage of ionic liquid catalyst.According to IR spectra and NMR spectra of the separated product, it is certain that 6-nonyl-2- naphthol is the main product of alkylation of 2-naphthol and tripropylene.The hydrophile-lipophilic-balance(HLB) value of nonylnaphthol ethoxylate is 16.0; The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of nonylnaphthol ethoxylate solution is 4.01×10-3mol/L; The cloud point of 1% (wt) nonylnaphthol ethoxylate solution is 86℃; Solution nonylnaphthol ethoxylate has shown better dispersibility to pigments P.R.146 and P.Y.65, and the most distribution of pigments grain are concentrated within 178μm.