<![CDATA[The increasing global demand for sustainable aviation fuels has driven extensive research on developing efficient heterogeneous catalysts. This study investigates the effect of different surface functionalization methods of mesoporous SBA-15 on its catalytic activity for the production of a C16 precursor of bio-aviation fuel. The SBA-15 surfaces were modified by two acid functionalization routes, namely sulfonation and sulfation, to enhance its surface acidity and catalytic activity. Sulfonation was carried out using 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) followed by oxidation to obtain the SO3H–SBA-15 catalyst containing sulfonic acid groups (–SO3H), while sulfation using ammonium sulfate as a precursor produced the SO4–SBA-15 catalyst containing sulfate groups (SO42-). Both catalysts were characterized using NH3-TPD and acid-base titration to quantify the total acidity. The catalytic performance was evaluated through hydroxyalkylation-alkylation (HAA) reaction between 2-methylfuran (2-MF) and methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) to synthesize a C16 bio-aviation fuel precursor, 5,5′-(4-methylpentane-2,2-diyl) bis(2-methylfuran) abbreviated as MPM. The results revealed that both modification methods effectively increased the total acid of SBA-15. However, the sulfated SBA-15 catalyst exhibited superior catalytic activity and stronger acid strength than the sulfonated one due to formation of more acid sites on its surface. Therefore, the sulfation route was identified as a more effective strategy for developing highly active solid acid catalysts. This research demonstrates the superior properties of sulfated mesoporous SBA-15 as a promising and sustainable heterogenous catalyst for converting biomass-derived platform chemicals into advanced C16 bio-aviation fuel precursors.]]>
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