Kinetics of Transesterification of Dimethyl Terephthalate with 1,4 Butanediol Catalyzed by Tetrabutyl Titanate.

Abstract

The kinetics of tetrabutyl titanate catalyzed transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) with 1,4-butanediol (BD) is investigated. Detailed analysis of experimental data indicates that equal reactivity hypothesis for functional groups is valid for [BD]/[DMT] molar ratios greater than 2 up to 75% conversion. Effects of reaction temperature and catalyst concentration are also discussed.