The application of metal ion-exchanged zeolites as highly efficient catalysts for the synthesis of glycerol carbonate from glycerol carbonylation is reported. The catalysts were prepared by an ion exchange method and characterized by XRD, py-FTIR, AAS, NH₃TPD, N₂ sorption and SEM. The Na, H and Zn forms of different zeolites were screened for the reaction. The Zn-FAU zeolite exhibited a high glycerol carbonate yield compared to other Zn-zeolites such as Zn-ZSM5, Zn-MOR and Zn-beta. The acidity of the Zn-HY zeolite was correlated with the amount of zinc and catalytic activity of the reaction. As the zinc content increased in HY zeolite, glycerol conversion and selectivity for glycerol carbonate increased due to an increase in Lewis acidity. Among different metal ion-exchanged HY zeolites, Zn²⁺ showed a higher catalytic performance. Zn-Y catalyst with 0.79 mmol g⁻¹ of zinc content gave 94.6% glycerol conversion with 98% selectivity for glycerol carbonate. The degree of zinc loading, reaction temperature, catalyst amount, mole ratio and catalyst reusability were investigated.

The application of metal ion-exchanged zeolites as highly active and selective catalysts for the synthesis of nopol from the Prins reaction of β-pinene is reported. The catalysts were prepared by an ion-exchange method and characterized by XRD, pyridine-FT-IR, AAS, NH₃-TPD and SEM. The Zn-beta catalyst showed the best performance among the different types of zeolites. The acidity of the Zn-beta zeolite was correlated with the amount of zinc and activity of the reaction. For different metal ion-exchanged beta catalysts, the yield of nopol increased with a decrease in Brönsted to Lewis acidity (B/L) ratio. The influence of solvent on the Prins reaction in terms of acceptor and donor number was investigated. The degree of Zn loading, amount of solvent, temperature, catalyst amount, mole ratio and recyclability of the catalyst were investigated.