Recent work in our group has shown tin(II) halides to be effective Lewis acid catalysts for the esterification of a free fatty acid (FFA) with an unusual pattern of reaction rates (I> Br> Cl >F). To confirm that this effect is due to steric bulk, substituted tin(II) chlorides of the form SnCl2X2 (X= Me, Et, t-Butyl) were used as catalysts under the same reaction conditions as the original halides. Reaction rates for the substituted halides follow a similar trend (t-Buytl> Et > Me). We present here the methods used to obtain and analyze our data, our potential mechanisms of this reaction, and our planned future work.

Investigating the effect of steric bulk on the catalytic activity of substituted tin(II) chlorides in the esterification of a free fatty acid

245th National Meeting (2013)

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