Abstract:Sulfonic acid functionalized titanium dioxide nanotubes (TNTs-SO3H) was prepared by the reaction of TiO2 nanotubes and (3-mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane, then by oxidation of thiols group with hydrogen peroxide. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, FTIR, TEM, TG and Hammett analysis techniques. The catalytic performance of TNTs-SO3H was investigated by the esterification reaction of levulinic acid and n-butyl alcohol. The experiment results revealed that the TNTs-SO3H catalyst exhibited high activity, the n-butyl levulinate yield reached 86.5% under the following conditions: n (levulinic acid): n (n-butyl alcohol) =1:5, w (catalyst) =10%, remperature at 120℃ for 4 h. And the product yield could reach 81.2% when the catalyst is recycled for 7 times.