Solving the Water Hypersensitive Challenge of Sulfated Solid Superacid in Acid Catalyzed Reactions.

In the past decades, water tolerance has always been the long-pending key issue of sulfated solid superacid (abbr. SO42-/MxOy) towards industrial applications. Herein, we report a strategy of facile coating a thick-tunable hydrophobic layer over the SO42-/MxOy, which can significantly improve the water tolerance with negligible inhibition on the catalytic performance of SO42-/MxOy. Even after being directly immersed in the water, the hydrophobic SO42-/MxOy can still maintain above 90% of original catalytic activity whereas pristine SO42-/MxOy and control samples are almost completely deactivated. This strategy opens a new route to enhance the water tolerance of sulfated solid superacid.