Due to the special cavity structure,
cyclodextrins become the perfect
candidates for biomimic catalyst acting like enzymes. In this paper,
hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) is used as a phase
transfer catalyst for the preparation of glycidyl monostearate (GM)
from SN2 substitution reaction by means of the formation of an inclusion
complex. FT-IR, 1HNMR, and GC-MS characterization verified
the formation of GM. The calculated inclusion constants of HP-β-CD/epichlorohydrin
and HP-β-CD/GM inclusion complex were 6.377 and 6709.4 L/mol,
respectively. Then, a series of characterizations further demonstrated
the formation of a stable inclusion complex. Therefore, the catalytic
mechanism of GM synthesis using HP-β-CD as catalyst was confirmed.
The experimental results show the yield of GM can reach 92.6% under
the optimum reaction conditions. The kinetics demonstrates the interactions
between HP-β-CD and substrate. The feasibility of HP-β-CD
as a biomimic catalyst will provide a new direction for the synthesis
of monoglyceride.