Amberlyst 15 as a new and reusable catalyst for the conversion of cellulose into cellulose acetate

The acetylation of cellulose using sulfonated Amberlyst 15 as a new and reusable catalyst was investigated. Optimization of the acetylation process was carried out by variation in the amount of added catalyst, acetic acid, and acetic anhydride as well as the reaction conditions, which includes reaction time and reaction medium. Cellulose acetate, with a degree of substitution (DS) value of 2.38 and yield of 54.1%, was obtained under the optimized conditions and characterized using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis–derivative thermogravimetry (TGA–DTG), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The sulfonated polymer catalyst could be easily recovered by centrifugation after acetylation. Both the fresh and recovered catalysts were characterized by means of FTIR, TGA–DTG, DSC, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the recovered catalyst could be successfully reused without further treatment. It was found that Amberlyst 15 possessed excellent catalytic stability, no significant changes in the DS values, and consistent yields of cellulose acetate observed over four reaction cycles.