OICC Press Iranian Journal of Catalysis 2345-4865 12 4 2023 12 22 Synthesis of SO4/ZrO2 Catalyst and its Application in the Conversion of Ethanol to Diethyl Ether 10.30495/ijc.2022.1963196.1948 EN Rena Septiyaningrum Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia Amalia Kurnia Amin Research Center for Chemistry, National Research and Innovation Agency, South Tangerang 15314, Indonesia Wega Trisunaryanti Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, University Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 0000-0001-5966-9655 Karna Wijaya Research Center for Chemistry, National Research and Innovation Agency, South Tangerang 15314, Indonesia 0000-0001-8155-0896 Journal Article 2023 12 22 SO4/ZrO2 heterogeneous acid catalyst was prepared by wet impregnation method from ZrO2 precursor involved variations in H2SO4 concentration (0.5; 1.0; 1.5 M) and calcination temperature (400, 500, 600 ℃) to yield catalyst with the highest acidity value. The catalysts produced were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-Ray (SEM-EDX), Thermogravimetry and Differential Scanning Calorimeter (TGA-DSC), Gas Sorption Analyzer (GSA), and acidity test using the gravimetric method with ammonia vapor. The catalyst used to observe activity and selectivity in the dehydration reaction of ethanol to diethyl ether (DEE) was SO4/ZrO2 catalyst with the highest total acidity. The liquid product from the dehydration of ethanol was analyzed using Gas Chromatography (GC). The ZS‐1.5‐500 catalyst showed the best activity and selectivity in the dehydration reaction of ethanol to DEE at a temperature of 225 ℃, yielding 49.85% (w/w) ethanol conversion and a 1.62% DEE selectivity.   Highlights Sulfation of zirconia results in higher strength of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites on its surface. Modified zirconia using sulfate increased the catalytic activity and selectivity of catalyst towards diethyl ether (DEE). The highest DEE content obtained was 1.62% using a ZS-1.5-500 catalyst which has the highest acidity at a reaction temperature of 225 ℃.