Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu khoa học trên tạp chí khoa học vật lý quốc tế đề tài: Synthesis, Characterisation and Catalytic Performance of Porous Nafion Resin/Silica Nanocomposites for Esterification of Lauric Acid and Methanol | Journal of Physical Science Vol. 20 2 23-36 2009 23 Synthesis Characterisation and Catalytic Performance of Porous Nafion Resin Silica Nanocomposites for Esterification of Lauric Acid and Methanol H. N. Lim1 M. A. Yarmo1 N. M. Huang2 P. S. Khiew3 and W. S. Chiu3 1 School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology Faculty of Science and Technology Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 43600 Bandar Baru Bangi Selangor Malaysia. 2Solid State Physics Research Group Physics Department Faculty of Science Universiti Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. 3Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science Nottingham University Jalan Broga 43500 Semenyih Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia. Corresponding author janet_limhn@ Abstract Solid acid catalyst nanocomposites made from Nafion resin supported on silica were prepared using an in situ sol-gel technique. Nafion resin silica nanocomposites combined the solid acid catalyst properties of Nafion resin with the high surface area characteristic of silica as a porous support. Nitrogen gas adsorptiondesorption showed that the surface area of Nafion resin supported on silica increased by about 10 000 times compared to the surface area of pure Nafion resin m2 g . The use of Nafion resin silica nanocomposites as catalysts for the esterification of lauric acid and methanol increased the methyl laurate yield by three fold compared to pure Nafion resin. Keywords nanocomposite catalyst sol-gel esterification Nafion resin Abstrak Mangkin nanokomposit asid pepejal berdasarkan resin Nafion disokong pada silika disediakan melalui teknik sol-gel in situ. Nanokomposit resin Nafion silika menggabungkan sifat-sifat mangkin asid pepejal resin Nafion dengan ciri luas permukaan tinggi silika sebagai penyokong poros. Penjerapan-penyahjerapan gas nitrogen menunjukkan bahawa luas permukaan resin Nafion yang disokong pada silika meningkat sebanyak 10 000 kali berbanding dengan luas permukaan resin nafion tulen m2 g . Penggunaan nanokomposit resin Nafion
