A high productivity catalyst for bisphenol-A has been discovered which
comprises strongly acidic cation-exchange resin spheres produced from a
polystyrene/divinylbenzene (PS/DVB) copolymer sulfonated under conditions
to introduce sulfone cross-linking. Surprisingly, the sulfone
cross-linking improves the resistance to deformation but does not have a
negative effect on the activity and selectivity of the catalyst in
bisphenol-A production.
