A Green Synthesis of 2-Ethylanthraquinone by Dehydration of 2-(4'-ethylbenzoyl) benzoic Acid ov

The dehydration of 2-(4'-ethylbenzoyl) benzoic acid (BE acid) to 2-ethylanthraquinone(2-EAQ) was investigated over solid acid catalysts. The results showed that H-beta zeolite catalyst modified by dilute HNO3 solution exhibited an excellent performance. In our study, theconversion of BE acid can reach 96.7%, and the selectivity to 2-EAQ is up to 99.6%.