Synthesis of Ricinoleic Acid Estolides by the Esterification of Ricinoleic Acids Using Functional Acid Ionic Liquids as Catalysts.

Estolides of ricinoleic acid (RA) have been used as lubricants and pigment dispersant in many industries. In this paper, functional acid ionic liquids (ILs) were firstly used as catalysts to prepare RA estolides by the esterification of RAs in solvent-free system. Different ILs were used as catalysts for the esterification. Effect of reaction variables (IL amount, reaction temperature and reaction time) on the esterification were also investigated and optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). Among all tested ILs, [BSO ₃ HMIM]TS showed the best performance for the esterification. Arrhenius equation for the esterification was lnV ₀ =14.897-7558.7/T, and the activation energy (Ea) was 62.84 kJ/mol. A high degree of polymerization with an acid value of 48.0±2.5 mg KOH/g was achieved at the optimized conditions (IL load 12%, reaction temperature 140°C, and reaction time 12 h). The effect of reaction variables on the esterification decreased in the order of catalyst loading of IL > reaction temperature > reaction time.