Glucose Oleic Acid Synthesis using Microwave- Assisted Organic Synthesis (MAOS) Method

Abstract

Carbohydrate-based esters of fatty acids are nonionic surfactants which are nontoxic, odorless, tasteless, and biodegradable. Glucose oleic acid is one of them. It can be synthesized by reacting glucose pentaacetate (GPA) and methyl oleate with conventional heating for 6 hours, which is slow and time-consuming. Therefore, organic synthesis has been developed by employing microwave irradiation, so called Microwave- Assisted Organic Synthesis (MAOS). This research synthesized glucose oleic acid, from GPA and methyl oleate using MAOS method, to reduce time of reaction and better yield. The parameters observed were melting point (for GPA), free fatty acid content (for methyl oleate), functional group analysis using Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and percent of yield. Reaction between GPA and glucose oleic acid was transesterification, while those of methyl oleate was esterification. GPA and glucose oleic acid using MAOS gave faster time of reaction, 5-10 minutes. The results showed that GPA, methyl oleate, and glucose oleic acid were well synthesized, as shown by FTIR spectra. The yield of GPA was 68,52%, with melting point was 94–111 °C. Methyl oleate gave 95,69% yield. Free fatty acid content of methyl oleate was 2,23%. The yield of glucose oleic acid was 47,18%.