A CATALYST AND A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED CARBOXYLIC ACIDS OR ESTERS

The invention discloses a catalyst comprising a silica support, a modifier metal and a catalytic alkali metal. The silica support has a multimodal pore size distribution comprising a mesoporous pore size distribution having an average pore size in the range 2 to 50 nm and a pore volume of said mesopores of at least 0.1 cm3/g, and a macroporous pore size distribution having an average pore size of more than 50 nm and a pore volume of said macropores of at least 0.1 cm3/g. The level of catalytic alkali metal on the silica support is at least 2 mol %. The modifier metal is selected from Mg, B, Al, Ti, Zr and Hf. The invention also discloses a method of producing the catalyst, a method of producing an ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid or ester in the presence of the catalyst, and a process for preparing an ethylenically unsaturated acid or ester in the presence of the catalyst.