Kinetics of the reaction of naphthalene with benzyl alcohol over a Nafion−silica composite, as a function of temperature Original Research Article

A recent kinetic study on the title reaction in a slurry batch reactor at 80 °C showed the reaction to be multistep. Using the same catalyst and procedure we extended the study to other temperatures (65, 70, and 75 °C). We considered the conversion of benzyl alcohol to dibenzylether and the benzylation of naphthalene separately and have now partially revised the previous study, introducing a modified Langmuir−Hinshelwood model. This led us to evaluate the kinetic and adsorption coefficients involved in the reactions, assess the main steps of the overall process, and determine the activation energy and adsorption enthalpy values.