Iranian Journal of Catalysis (IJC) Functionalized mesostructured silicas towards efficient conversion of furfuryl alcohol to ethyl levulinate Volume 13 (2023) IJC Issue 3, September 2023 2023 11 17 Functionalized mesostructured silicas towards efficient conversion of furfuryl alcohol to ethyl levulinate 10.30495/ijc.2023.1983480.2002 EN Rahul Prajapati Department of Chemical Engineering, Government Engineering College, Valsad-396001, Gujarat, India Sanjay Srivastava Department of Chemical Engineering, Government Engineering College, Valsad-396001, Gujarat, India Giriraj Jadeja Department of Chemical Engineering, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat-395007, Gujarat, India Jigisha Parikh Department of Chemical Engineering, Government Engineering College, Valsad-396001, Gujarat, India Journal Article 2023 11 17 In this study, we synthesized ethyl levulinate (EL) by alcoholysis of furfuryl alcohol (FAL) with ethanol using two catalysts, SBA-15-SO3H (SHS-15) and SBA-16-SO3H (SHS-16). The catalysts were prepared through the hydrothermal method, and their physical and chemical properties were assessed using various techniques such as small and wide-angle XRD, N2-sorption, SEM, TEM, FTIR, and Py-FTIR. Characterization results showed that SHS-15 possesses a mesoporous structure with a higher surface area and uniform pore size, along with moderate Brønsted acidity. In catalytic activity, both catalysts were tested for converting FAL to EL under moderate reaction conditions. SHS-15 exhibited excellent performance, achieving a yield of 93.9% for ethyl levulinate at 110°C, with a 0.5g catalyst dose, 1g FAL, and 4h reaction time. In contrast, SHS-16 yielded 88.6%, which was lower than SHS-15. These findings highlight the potential of SHS-15 as an effective catalyst for the alcoholysis of FAL into EL under moderate reaction conditions.