Hi! Can someone summarize what the reaction article is saying? Iam having trouble understanding it.
The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the catalyticperformance of solid acid catalyst developed from modification ofcoal combustion fly ash to synthesize methyl 4-aminobenzoate (MAB)by Fischer esterification between 4-aminobenzoic acid and methanol.Upon acid modification of fly ash, surface acidity of solid acidcatalyst (SAC) is greatly enhanced as a result of increased surfacearea, augmented silica content, and fabricated phosphates. Theproposed mechanism, similar to our lab, demonstrates that thesurface acid sites of solid acid catalyst (SAC) initiate thereaction by donating proton to 4-aminobenzoic acid, resulting inthe formation of carbocation, which is then attacked by theelectron-rich oxygen atom of methanol. Subsequent loss of water anddeprotonation resulted in the formation of the desired product,MAB. Recyclability study reveals that the solid acid catalyst (SAC)retains similar catalytic activity till the fifth reaction cyclefurnishing the yield of methyl 4-aminobenzoate in the range 82–98%This unveils that the acidity remains unaffected duringregeneration of the catalyst. This eco-friendly, highly efficient,and low-cost solid acid catalyst system may be used as areplacement of harmful traditional liquid acids for importantreactions in pharmaceutical industries to synthesize indispensabledrugs.
