The phase transfer catalyst (PTC) market continues to expand, with the field of organic chemistry as its main demand end.

Phase transfer catalyst (PTC) refers to a catalyst that can help the reactants transfer from one phase to another phase where the reaction can occur, thereby accelerating the reaction rate of the heterogeneous system. Phase transfer catalysts have the advantages of high yield of finished products, fast reaction speed, and mild reaction conditions. They are widely used in pesticide synthesis, organic chemistry, medicine and other fields. Commonly used phase transfer catalysts include cyclic crown ethers, polyethers, quaternary phosphonium salts, and quaternary ammonium salts.

Research on the phase transfer catalyst industry started in the 1960s. After years of development, its application scope has continued to expand, and the field of organic chemistry is its main demand side. Phase transfer catalysts are environmentally friendly catalysts that can participate in many chemical reactions such as acylation reaction, diazotization reaction, carbene reaction, and alkylation reaction. In recent years, driven by national environmental protection policies, the development of my country’s green chemical industry has accelerated, which has brought broad market space for phase transfer catalysts.

According to the “2023-2028 China Phase Transfer Catalyst (PTC) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center ” shows that in terms of market size, my country’s phase transfer catalyst market size will reach 2.96 billion yuan in 2022. It is expected to grow rapidly at a growth rate of more than 10% from 2023 to 2028, and its market size will exceed 5 billion yuan by 2028. In terms of market demand, benefiting from the improved prosperity of the downstream industry, my country’s phase transfer catalyst market demand is increasingly strong. Its demand will reach 75,000 tons in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 14.7%.

From the perspective of product segmentation, traditional crown ether and quaternary ammonium salt phase transfer catalysts have problems such as low toxicity, poor thermal stability, and high production costs. Heteropoly acid (HPA), as a new green phase transfer catalyst, has the advantages of non-toxicity, redox property and extremely strong catalytic activity. It is currently one of the hot spots in phase transfer catalyst research in my country.

my country’s phase transfer catalyst industry started late, and there is still a gap in product quality and performance compared with overseas developed countries. Major players in my country’s phase transfer catalyst market include Kent Catalytic Materials Co., Ltd., Wuhan Dachu Hexing Technology Co., Ltd., Changzhou Southwest Chemical Industry Research Institute, Changzhou East China Chemical Industry Research Institute, etc. Kent Catalysis focuses on the R&D, production and sales of quaternary phosphonium salts and other compounds, and is a leading company in phase transfer catalysts in my country. At present, Kent Catalysis has independent research and development and production capabilities for four phase transfer catalysts: crown ether, quaternary ammonium base, quaternary ammonium salt and quaternary phosphonium salt.

Industry analysts said that phase transfer catalysts have the advantages of fast reaction speed and mild reaction conditions, and are widely used in many chemical reactions. With the rapid development of my country’s green chemical industry, the market demand for phase transfer catalysts will become increasingly strong. At present, due to factors such as high technical barriers, my country’s market share of high-performance phase transfer catalysts is low, and the industry still has huge development potential.