Transesterification of methyl benzoate and dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol over superbases Original Research Article

The catalytic behavior of the superbases Na/NaOH/γ-Al2O3 and CsxO/γ-Al2O3 was investigated in the transesterification of methyl benzoate and dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol. The reactions were carried out in liquid phase under atmospheric pressure. The dependencies of conversion, selectivity and product distribution on temperature, reactant/catalyst ratio and the starting material ratio were investigated. In the transesterification of methyl benzoate selectivites to ethylene glycol monobenzoate up to 96% at conversions up to 94% have been observed. In the transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate yield of bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate of 88% is obtained.