Catalytic cracking of large molecules over hierarchical zeolites

A hierarchical zeolite catalyst was synthesized by transforming the skeletons of a bimodal pore silica gel into a zeolite through a steam-assisted conversion method, and shows high catalytic activity and a long catalyst lifetime for catalytic cracking of large molecules.     

多级结构ZSM-5沸石分子筛的合成及其Mo基催化剂在甲烷无氧脱氢芳构化中的应用

以经盐酸预处理的碳纳米管为第二模板,在不添加其它有机溶剂的情况下,仅通过控制晶化条件,即采用变温水热晶化法合成具有多级结构的ZSM-5分子筛.通过x射线衍射、红外光谱测试、透射电镜和N2吸附对合成的分子筛进行了表征,结果表明,该合成分子筛呈近球形,是由纳米棒自组装形成的具有多级结构的亚微米球.该分子筛改性后用于甲烷无氧脱氢芳构化反应,显示出良好的催化性能,甲烷转化率最初达到19%,反应至24 h时甲烷转化率仍保持在10%左右,并且保持了较高的芳香物选择性(达到50%以上).     

Tailoring the Structure of Hierarchically Porous Zeolite Beta through Modified Orientated Attachment Growth in a Dry Gel System

The crystallization of zeolite beta in a dry gel system is found to follow the orientated attachment growth route, escorted with a temporal morphology change from bulky gel, through aggregation of the particulate to large zeolitic crystals. Modification of the precrystallized gel with organosilanes can be used to tune the morphology of the ultimate beta. When hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HTS) is employed to modify precrystallized gel, a resumed secondary growth produces a hybrid mesocrystal of agglomerated nanozeolites. Combustive removal of organics leads to the formation of hierarchically porous zeolite beta of 100 to 160 nm, composed of nanocrystal building units ranging from 20 to 40 nm, with a noticeable micropore volume of 0.19 mL g^?1 and a meso/macropore size between 5 and 80 nm. Conversely, when 1,8‐bis(triethoxysilyl)octane (BTO) is utilized to modify the same precrystallized gel, assemblages of discrete beta nanozeolite of around 35 nm are generated. These assemblages construct a hierarchical zeolite beta with a micropore volume of 0.20 mL g^?1 and auxiliary pores ranging from 5 to 100 nm. Both organosilanes bring about well‐connected hierarchical pore networks. HTS has little effect on the Brønsted/Lewis acidity, whereas BTO causes a substantial reduction of strong Brønsted acid sites. The hierarchical beta zeolite‐supported Pt catalyst exhibits improved catalytic performance for the hydroisomerization of n‐heptane.     

多级孔IM-5分子筛的简易制备及其在甲烷芳构化中的催化性能

采用一步水热晶化法、不添加第二模板剂、仅通过控制合成条件,制备了具有多级孔道结构的IM-5-H分子筛。多级孔IM-5-H材料展现了与常规IM-5-C分子筛不同的形貌、结构和酸性质。由于IM-5-H分子筛载体介孔结构的促进作用,钼基Mo-IM-5-H催化剂在甲烷无氧芳构化反应中表现出较高的甲烷转化率（13.1%）、芳烃产率（7.5%）和稳定性。该研究为合成多级孔IM-5材料提供了一种简便的方法,同时扩展了微孔-介孔复合材料在甲烷芳构化反应中的应用。     

Zeolite Y from kaolin clay of Kachchh,India: Synthesis,characterization and catalytic application

Kaolin clay obtained from Kachchh, Gujarat was used as alumina and silica source to synthesize zeolite Y by hydrothermal method. The synthesis route comprised of the following steps: sulfuric acid treatment at 110 ​°C (4 ​h) for impurity removal followed by calcination at 600 ​°C for 4 ​h, thermal activation of kaolin into metakaolin by NaOH fusion at 850 ​°C (8 ​h); aging of reaction mixtures at 50 ​°C (24 ​h); crystallization (24 ​h) followed by washing and drying. The synthesized zeolite Y was examined by multiple characterization techniques which revealed a pore volume of 0.22 ​cm³/g with pore size of 2.89 ​nm having essential surface area of 320 ​m²/g, indicating a porous material having majority of micropores and remaining mesopores. The zeolite exhibited good catalytic activity for succinic acid esterification using ethanol to produce monoethyl and diethyl succinate. The conversion of SA (72%) and yield (60%) of valuable diester indicated good conversion rate and selectivity at moderate reaction conditions. Detailed structural comparison with zeolite Y synthesized using standard chemical route is also carried out. This work demonstrated an effective way of preparing environmentally benign porous zeolite Y having high surface area and pore volume that can be useful for catalytic applications.     

A review on the green synthesis of hierarchically porous zeolite

Conventional bottom-up and top-down methods for synthesizing hierarchical zeolite have led to complicated economic and environmental issues due to the requirement of expensive and hazardous organic molecules, the large amount of acid/base solution, high energy, and expensive starting materials. Besides, the bottom-up method through the hydrothermal crystallization evokes safety issues due to the high autogenous pressure. Accordingly, considerable efforts have been made to develop green route synthesis of hierarchical zeolite by eliminating the use of a solvent (solvent-free), utilizing sustainable starting materials and green secondary template (mesoporogen), as well as eliminating the use of mesoporogen (mesoporogen-free). Other routes, including recycling of mother liquor, steam-assisted conversion, gel-like-solid phase method, and silanization, are also elaborated, as they are reported to promote a green and facile approach for the synthesis of hierarchical zeolites. In this review, we provide recent progress on the development of the green synthesis of hierarchically porous zeolite.     

Facile Synthesis of Hierarchical Nanosized Single-Crystal Aluminophosphate Molecular Sieves from Highly Homogeneous and Concentrated Precursors

The synthesis of hierarchical nanosized zeolite materials without growth modifiers and mesoporogens remains a substantial challenge. Herein, we report a general synthetic approach to produce hierarchical nanosized single-crystal aluminophosphate molecular sieves by preparing highly homogeneous and concentrated precursors and heating at elevated temperatures. Accordingly, aluminophosphate zeotypes of LTA (8-rings), AEL (10-rings), AFI (12-rings), and -CLO (20-rings) topologies, ranging from small to extra-large pores, were synthesized. These materials show exceptional properties, including small crystallites (30–150 nm), good monodispersity, abundant mesopores, and excellent thermal stability. A time-dependent study revealed a non-classical crystallization pathway by particle attachment. This work opens a new avenue for the development of hierarchical nanosized zeolite materials and understanding their crystallization mechanism.     

“蒸汽相转化”法制备纳米晶组成的块状方钠石多级孔沸石催化材料

将实验室合成的聚苯乙烯乳胶微球(PS)加入制备方钠石(SOD)沸石的前驱体凝胶中,在45℃条件下制得干凝胶,随后采用"蒸汽相转化"法制备了大块状SOD沸石材料。对影响多级SOD沸石形成因素进行了详细讨论。采用X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、N_2吸附-脱附和压汞技术等表征手段对制备的材料进行了详细表征。结果表明通过"蒸汽相转化"法制备的大块状SOD沸石由球状多晶聚集体构成,这些球状多晶聚集体又是由粒径为50~100 nm的初级纳米晶粒组成,在初级纳米晶粒上和纳米晶粒之间形成了2~50 nm介孔结构以及由脱除PS微球形成的50~300 nm的大孔结构。     

“蒸汽相转化”法制备纳米晶组成的块状方钠石多级孔沸石催化材料

将实验室合成的聚苯乙烯乳胶微球（PS）加入制备方钠石（SOD）沸石的前驱体凝胶中,在45℃条件下制得干凝胶,随后采用“蒸汽相转化”法制备了大块状SOD沸石材料。对影响多级SOD沸石形成因素进行了详细讨论。采用X射线衍射（XRD）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、透射电子显微镜（TEM）、N₂吸附-脱附和压汞技术等表征手段对制备的材料进行了详细表征。结果表明通过“蒸汽相转化”法制备的大块状SOD沸石由球状多晶聚集体构成,这些球状多晶聚集体又是由粒径为50~100 nm的初级纳米晶粒组成,在初级纳米晶粒上和纳米晶粒之间形成了2~50 nm介孔结构以及由脱除PS微球形成的50~300 nm的大孔结构。     

Facile Synthesis of Hierarchical Nanosized Single‐Crystal Aluminophosphate Molecular Sieves from Highly Homogeneous and Concentrated Precursors

The synthesis of hierarchical nanosized zeolite materials without growth modifiers and mesoporogens remains a substantial challenge. Herein, we report a general synthetic approach to produce hierarchical nanosized single‐crystal aluminophosphate molecular sieves by preparing highly homogeneous and concentrated precursors and heating at elevated temperatures. Accordingly, aluminophosphate zeotypes of LTA (8‐rings), AEL (10‐rings), AFI (12‐rings), and ‐CLO (20‐rings) topologies, ranging from small to extra‐large pores, were synthesized. These materials show exceptional properties, including small crystallites (30–150 nm), good monodispersity, abundant mesopores, and excellent thermal stability. A time‐dependent study revealed a non‐classical crystallization pathway by particle attachment. This work opens a new avenue for the development of hierarchical nanosized zeolite materials and understanding their crystallization mechanism.     

Hollow mesoporous zeolite microspheres: hierarchical macro-/meso-/microporous structure and exceptionally enhanced adsorption properties

We report the synthesis of a new kind of uniform hollow zeolite microspheres with hierarchical macro-/meso-/microporosity by an efficient strategy combining bi-templating, steam-assisted crystallization and then a mild alkaline etching method. This novel product has a hollow architecture, highly crystallized zeolite shells and more importantly, high dye adsorption capabilities.     

Engineering macroporous composite materials using competitive adsorption in particle-stabilized foams

Slow crystallization and growth rate at room temperature in the presence of surfactant micelles is a new strategy used to synthesize hierarchical Na-A zeolites. The observed structure of the hierarchical materials was consistent with a two stage growth mechanism. During the early stage of the gel evolution, miniature zeolite gel particles were formed and assembled around surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide - CTAB) micelles. In a second stage, the slow mass transformation into crystalline phase and the low growth rate of the formed crystallites retained the CTAB micelles within the crystallization domain. After the removal of CTAB templates, the products showed large mesopores which were attributed to the interstitial voids between the aggregated zeolite nanocrystallites. The size of the mesopores can be further expanded by using linear hydrocarbons as swelling agents. The influences of the added amount of the hydrocarbons and the length of the hydrocarbon chains on the mesopore size were examined. The effects of the aging period and the concentration of CTAB in the synthesis mixture on the pore size distribution were also investigated. The colloidal suspension of the synthesized zeolite showed negative zeta potential throughout the entire range of pH. The mesoporous Na-A zeolite synthesized in this work showed higher ethylene adsorption capacity as compared to the conventional microporous Na-A zeolite. XRD, DLS, SEM, N(2) adsorption-desorption at 77K, TEM, (29)Si NMR and FTIR techniques were used to characterize the hierarchical Na-A zeolite.     

Preparation of hierarchical mesoporous Zn/HZSM-5 catalyst and its application in MTG reaction

The hierarchical mesoporous Zn/ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst was prepared by NaOH treatment and Zn impregnation, and its application in the conversion of methanol to gasoline (MTG) was studied. N2 adsorption-desorption results showed that the mesopores with sizes of 2–20 nm in HZ5/0.3AT was formed by 0.3 M NaOH alkali treatment. The zeolite samples after modification were also characterized by XRF, AAS, XRD, SEM and NH3-TPD methods. Zn impregnated catalyst Zn/HZ5/0.3AT exhibited dramatic improvements in catalytic lifetime and liquid hydrocarbons yield. The selectivity of aromatic hydrocarbons was also improved after Zn impregnation. It is suggested that the mesopores of Zn/HZ5/0.3AT enhanced the synergetic effect of Zn species and acid sites and the capability to coke tolerance, which were confirmed by the results of catalytic test and TGA analysis, respectively.     

Studies on the formation of hierarchical zeolite T aggregates with well-defined morphology in different template systems

In this paper, the disk-like and pumpkin-like hierarchical zeolite T aggregates consisted of primary nano-grains have been hydrothermally synthesized with and without the aid of the second template. The first template is used with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) and the second template is used with triethanolamine (TEA) or polyving akohol (PVA). A combination of characterization techniques, including XRD, SEM, TEM and N₂ adsorption–desorption to examine the crystal crystallinity, morphology and surface properties of hierarchical zeolite T aggregates. In the single-template preparation process, the two-step varying-temperature treatment has been used to improve the meso-porosity of zeolite T aggregates. In the double-template preparation process, the amounts of PVA or TEA on the crystallinity, morphology and meso-porosity of zeolite T aggregates have been studied. It has been proved that the interstitial voids between the primary grains of aggregates are the origin of additional mesopores of samples. The micro- and meso-porosities of samples prepared with and without the second template have been contrasted in detail at last. In particular, the sample synthesized with the addition of PVA presents a hierarchical pore structure with the highest S_ext value of 122 m²/g and V_meso value of 0.255 cm³/g.     

Exploring meso-/microporous composite molecular sieves with core-shell structures

A series of core–shell‐structured composite molecular sieves comprising zeolite single crystals (i.e., ZSM‐5) as a core and ordered mesoporous silica as a shell were synthesized by means of a surfactant‐directed sol–gel process in basic medium by using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a template and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as silica precursor. Through this coating method, uniform mesoporous silica shells closely grow around the anisotropic zeolite single crystals, the shell thickness of which can easily be tuned in the range of 15–100 nm by changing the ratio of TEOS/zeolite. The obtained composite molecular sieves have compact meso‐/micropore junctions that form a hierarchical pore structure from ordered mesopore channels (2.4–3.0 nm in diameter) to zeolite micropores (≈0.51 nm). The short‐time kinetic diffusion efficiency of benzene molecules within pristine ZSM‐5 (≈7.88×10^?19 m² s^?1) is almost retainable after covering with 75 nm‐thick mesoporous silica shells (≈7.25×10^?19 m² s^?1), which reflects the greatly opened junctions between closely connected mesopores (shell) and micropores (core). The core–shell composite shows greatly enhanced adsorption capacity (≈1.35 mmol g^?1) for large molecules such as 1,3,5‐triisopropylbenzene relative to that of pristine ZSM‐5 (≈0.4 mmol g^?1) owing to the mesoporous silica shells. When Al species are introduced during the coating process, the core–shell composite molecular sieves demonstrate a graded acidity distribution from weak acidity of mesopores (predominant Lewis acid sites) to accessible strong acidity of zeolite cores (Lewis and Brønsted acid sites). The probe catalytic cracking reaction of n‐dodecane shows the superiority of the unique core–shell structure over pristine ZSM‐5. Insight into the core–shell composite structure with hierarchical pore and graded acidity distribution show great potential for petroleum catalytic processes.     

A型沸石/活性炭复合材料的制备及甲烷/氮气吸附分离性能

以沥青和煤矸石为原料,经炭化、活化后获得型体活性炭材料(AC),并在此基础上进行水热晶化,研究晶化时间对复合材料中4A沸石的形成、孔结构和甲烷、氮气吸附性能的影响。通过X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、77 K下的氮气吸附-脱附以及273 K下的CO_2吸附等温线对样品进行表征,结果表明水热晶化后,复合材料中的硅铝形成立方结构的4A沸石,出现了0.45~0.6 nm的微孔,微孔孔容增加,并伴有少量的中孔和大孔。复合材料在298 K下的甲烷(CH_4)和氮气(N_2)吸附等温线的结果表明,晶化时间6 h的复合材料AC-2的甲烷吸附量被提高至10.8 m L/g,并保持较高的CH4/N2平衡分离比(3.7)。     

Graphene Oxide Facilitates Solvent‐Free Synthesis of Well‐Dispersed,Faceted Zeolite Crystals

Zeolites with molecular dimension pores are widely used in petrochemical and fine‐chemical industries. While traditional solvothermal syntheses suffer from environmental, safety, and efficiency issues, the newly developed solvent‐free synthesis is limited by zeolite crystal aggregation. Herein, we report well‐dispersed and faceted silicalite ZSM‐5 zeolite crystals obtained using a solvent‐free synthesis facilitated by graphene oxide (GO). The selective interactions between the GO sheets and different facets, which are confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations, result in oriented growth of the ZSM‐5 crystals along the c‐axis. More importantly, the incorporation of GO sheets into the ZSM‐5 crystals leads to the formation of mesopores. Consequently, the faceted ZSM‐5 crystals exhibit hierarchical pore structures. This synthetic method is superior to conventional approaches because of the features of the ZSM‐5 zeolite.     

Pore hierarchy in mesoporous silicas evidenced by in-situ SANS during nitrogen physisorption

The pore hierarchy of a hierarchical porous SiO2 with 14 nm spherical mesopores and 3 nm worm-like pores (KLE1C16) is studied by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) in combination with in-situ nitrogen sorption at 77 K. A novel setup is used developed at Hahn-Meitner Institute, Berlin. It is demonstrated that in these materials indeed all of the large mesopores are connected through the smaller ones, thus providing invaluable insights into the general phenomenon of pore connectivity in mesoporous materials.     

Graphene Oxide Facilitates Solvent‐Free Synthesis of Well‐Dispersed,Faceted Zeolite Crystals

Zeolites with molecular dimension pores are widely used in petrochemical and fine‐chemical industries. While traditional solvothermal syntheses suffer from environmental, safety, and efficiency issues, the newly developed solvent‐free synthesis is limited by zeolite crystal aggregation. Herein, we report well‐dispersed and faceted silicalite ZSM‐5 zeolite crystals obtained using a solvent‐free synthesis facilitated by graphene oxide (GO). The selective interactions between the GO sheets and different facets, which are confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations, result in oriented growth of the ZSM‐5 crystals along the c‐axis. More importantly, the incorporation of GO sheets into the ZSM‐5 crystals leads to the formation of mesopores. Consequently, the faceted ZSM‐5 crystals exhibit hierarchical pore structures. This synthetic method is superior to conventional approaches because of the features of the ZSM‐5 zeolite.