Fe(II)-Zn-based double metal cyanide complex catalysts modified with rare earth metal or transition metal promoters(lanthanum, cerium, zirconium, manganese) for the production of biodiesel were prepared, and the effect of the addition of different metal promoters on the characteristics of the catalyst was studied by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET, ICP and Infrared techniques .The experiment results show that the Fe(II)-Zn-based catalyst promoted with 1 wt.% of La(NO3)3·nH2O exhibits the highest catalytic activity for the reaction, being as high as 99.3% of the yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Fe(II)-Zn-based catalysts have a tentative molecular formula: K2Zn3[Fe(CN)6]2·xH2O· (t-BuOH), where x=3-9 determined by using elemental analysis and ICP. It has been shown that the molecular formula of Fe(II)-Zn-based double metal cyanide complex catalysts did not change by adding 1 wt.% of rare earth metal or transition metal promoters. X-ray diffraction and BET results showed that Fe(II)-Zn-based catalysts with 1 wt.% of metal promoters salts exhibit smaller particle size, higher surface area than the Fe(II)-Zn catalyst ,which may be related to the higher activity of the catalysts.
