Hydroxyalkylation of phenol to bisphenol F over the intercalation of aluminum hydroxy oligomeric into layered montmorillonite K10 was investigated. A remarkably high product yield (89.2%) and selectivity to bisphenol F (92.7%) has been achieved at a 110 °C reaction temperature and reaction time of 80 min with a Al-MMT(6) catalyst. A series of catalysts were prepared and characterized by FT-IR, XRD, BET, NH3-TPD and Py-IR. Characterization results showed that the catalytic performance of these catalysts depended on weak and moderate acidity and the textural properties (specific surface areas). The effect of the catalyst calcination temperature to this reaction was also studied. Moreover, the influences of various reaction parameters like mole ratio, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time on the product yield and selectivity to bisphenol F were investigated. Finally, the reusability of the catalyst was studied and a plausible mechanistic pathway was proposed.
