Sonochemical synthesis of a new nano-sized barium coordination polymer and its application as a heterogeneous catalyst towards sono-synthesis of biodiesel

A new nano-sized barium coordination polymer, {(biPYF)[Ba-2(pydc)(2)(Hpydc)(H2O)]}(n)nH(2)O (1), (bipy = 4,4'-bipyridine and H(2)pydc = pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid), has been sonochemically synthesized and fully characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), FT-IR spectroscopy,thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and elemental analyses. Compound 1 was structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction and it was shown that this compound consists of 1D anionic coordination polymers and bipyH(+) cationic species that construct a three-dimensional supramolecular architecture via non-covalent interactions ie. ion-pairing and hydrogen bonding. The role of compound 1 as a heterogeneous catalyst in the production of biodiesel was also investigated. A full conversion of soybean oil to biodiesel was accomplished in an exceptionally short timeframe through an ultrasonic-assisted transesterification process in the presence of compound 1.