Isopropyl Octanoate Synthesis Catalyzed by Layered Zinc n-Octanoate

Isopropyl octanoate is an ester used in the formulation of cosmetics, foods, medicines, and other products. The peculiar thermodynamic and kinetic factors, allied with the demand for the applications mentioned above, justify the development of an optimized process for its synthesis. In the present article, the esterification of octanoic acid with isopropanol while using zinc n-octanoate as catalyst is reported. A factorial design was employed where variables such as molar ratio (alcohol:acid), percentage of catalyst (in relation to the acid mass) and temperature were investigated. It was observed that zinc octanoate showed promising catalytic activity, especially at 165 °C, with molar ratios of 8:1 and 6:1, and with 7 and 10% of catalyst, where conversions up to 75% were observed. Optimized conditions for the production of isopropyl octanoate were determined to be 165 °C, 6:1 molar ratio and 5.97% of catalyst.