Argilas como catalisadores verdes na esterificação do colesterol: caracterização espectroscópica e identificação de polimorfos por métodos de análise térmica. Uma proposta laboratorial interdisciplinar para o 1º ciclo universitário Clays as green catalysts in the cholesterol esterification: spectroscopic characterization and polymorphs identification by thermal analysis methods. An interdisciplinary laboratorial proposal for the undergraduate level

• Published in: Química nova Vol. 32; no. 8; pp. 2225 - 2229
• Main Authors: Teresa M. R. Maria, Rui M. D. Nunes, Mariette M. Pereira, M. Ermelinda S. Eusébio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Química 01-01-2009
• Subjects: cholesteryl acetate; green chemistry; polymorphism
• ISSN: 0100-4042; 1678-7064
• DOI: 10.1590/S0100-40422009000800040

A laboratory experiment that enables the professor to introduce the problematic of sustainable development in pharmaceutical chemistry to undergraduate students is proposed, using a simple synthetic procedure. Cholesteryl acetate is prepared by the esterification of cholesterol using Montmorillonite K10 as heterogeneous catalyst. Cholesterol and cholesteryl acetate are characterized by spectroscopic (¹H RMN, 13C RMN, FTIR) and thermal analysis techniques. The thermal methods are used to introduce the concepts of polymorphism and the nature of mesophases.