Etherification of glycerol with benzyl alcohol catalyzed by solid acids

in this work we present the results of glycerol etherification with benzyl alcohol, catalyzed by different solid acids. the mono-benzyl-glycerol ether was the main product in the reactions catalyzed by β zeolite and amberlyst-35 acid resin, whereas di-benzyl-ether was formed in higher yield with the use of p-toluene-sulfonic acid and k-10 montmorillonite as catalyst. niobic acid was inactive in this reaction. the porous structure of the zeolite impaired the formation of di and tri-benzyl-glycerol ethers.