Novel excellent hydrophobic- mesoporous- polymer-based solid acid catalysts have been successfully synthesized by copolymerization of divinylbenzene (DVB) with sodium p-styrene sulfonate (H-PDVB-x-SO3H's) under solvothermal conditions. N2 isotherms and TEM images showed that H-PDVB-x-SO3H's have high BET surface areas, large pore volumes, and abundant mesoporosity; CHNS element analysis and acid–base titration technology showed that H-PDVB-x-SO3H's have adjustable sulfur contents (0.31–2.36 mmol/g) and acidic concentrations (0.26–1.86 mmol/g); TG curves showed that H-PDVB-x-SO3H's exhibited much higher stability of the active site (372 °C) than that of the acidic resin of Amberlyst 15 (312 °C); contact angle and water adsorption tests showed that H-PDVB-x-SO3H's exhibited excellent hydrophobic properties. Catalytic tests in esterification of acetic acid with cyclohexanol, esterification of acetic acid with 1-butanol, and condensation of benzaldehyde with ethylene glycol showed that H-PDVB-x-SO3H's were more active than those of Amberlyst 15, SO3H-functionalized ordered mesoporous silicas, and beta and USY zeolites, which were even comparable with that of homogeneous H2SO4. The superior hydrophobicity of solid acid catalysts would be favorable for achieving excellent catalytic performance because water usually acts as a byproduct in various acid-catalyzed reactions, which can easily poison the acid sites and result in opposite reactions. Synthesis of porous solid acid catalysts with good hydrophobicity would be very important for their applications.

Strong acid ionic liquids and sulfonic group bifunctional graphene-like nanoporous carbons with abundant nanopores, controlled acidity and excellent catalytic activity for biomass transformation have been successfully prepared in this work.

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2D graphitized porous carbons decorated with high contents of nitrogen sites such as pyridinic nitrogen were developed, which were used as efficient and reusable solid base catalysts for transesterification to biodiesel.

Strong acidic ionic liquids functionalized, ordered and stable mesoporous phenol-formaldehyde resins (OMR-ILs) monoliths have been successfully synthesized from the treatment of ordered mesoporous resins (OMR-[HMTA]) using 1,3-propanesultone, followed by ion exchanged using various strong acids. The OMR-[HMTA] samples could be synthesized by the assembly of block copolymer template of F127 with preformed resol, which could be obtained from heating a mixture of phenol and formaldehyde at 70 °C; during curing processes, certain contents of the hexamethyltetramine (HMTA) cross linker were also introduced, after hydrothermal treatment at 200 °C for 20 h, calcination at 360 °C under nitrogen, OMR-[HMTA] samples with opened mesopores were obtained. Characterizations suggest that OMR-ILs have ordered and stable mesospores, high BET surface areas, and strong acid strength. Interestingly, OMR-ILs show much higher catalytic activities and recyclability in the esterification of acetic acid with cyclohexanol, hydration of propylene oxide, Peckmann reaction of resorcinol with ethyl acetoacetate and transesterification of tripalmitin with methanol than those of Amberlyst 15, sulfonic group functional ordered mesoporous silicas and acidic zeolites, which were even comparable with that of H 2 SO 4 . The unique features of OMR-ILs such as superior thermal stability, excellent catalytic activities and recyclability, will be potentially important for their applications in industry. † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See