Aluminum acid sites

In addition to the reaction of Cp3Ni3(CO)2 and Cp4Fe4(CO)4 with molecular Lewis acids in solution, a similar interaction is found with Lewis acid sites on y-AI203 (111). These compounds are rapidly extracted from hydrocarbon solution by dehydroxylated y-Al203, and IR spectra of the adsorbed species indicate an interaction between a surface aluminum acid site and a carbonyl oxygen (17a and 17b). Infrared stretching frequencies... 

In the following sections the catalytic effects of the three major structural changes in the operating dealuminated zeolite will be discussed. These structural changes include the formation of nonframework alumina, the formation of mesoporosity, and a reduction in the number of aluminum acid sites in the framework. 

Still another type of adsorption system is that in which either a proton transfer occurs between the adsorbent site and the adsorbate or a Lewis acid-base type of reaction occurs. An important group of solids having acid sites is that of the various silica-aluminas, widely used as cracking catalysts. The sites center on surface aluminum ions but could be either proton donor (Brpnsted acid) or Lewis acid in type. The type of site can be distinguished by infrared spectroscopy, since an adsorbed base, such as ammonia or pyridine, should be either in the ammonium or pyridinium ion form or in coordinated form. The type of data obtainable is illustrated in Fig. XVIII-20, which shows a portion of the infrared spectrum of pyridine adsorbed on a Mo(IV)-Al203 catalyst. In the presence of some surface water both Lewis and Brpnsted types of adsorbed pyridine are seen, as marked in the figure. Thus the features at 1450 and 1620 cm are attributed to pyridine bound to Lewis acid sites, while those at 1540... 

In a reversal of the reaction with SiCl, aluminum can be introduced into the framework by reaction of the hydrogen or ammonium form with gaseous AlCl (36). Similarly, reaction with aqueous ammonium fluoroaluminates replaces framework-Si with Al (37). When alumina-bound high siUca 2eohtes are hydrothermaHy treated, aluminum migrates into framework positions and generates catalyticaHy active acid sites (38). The reaction can be accelerated by raising the pH of the aqueous phase. 

Acid-treated clays were the first catalysts used in catalytic cracking processes, but have been replaced by synthetic amorphous silica-alumina, which is more active and stable. Incorporating zeolites (crystalline alumina-silica) with the silica/alumina catalyst improves selectivity towards aromatics. These catalysts have both Fewis and Bronsted acid sites that promote carbonium ion formation. An important structural feature of zeolites is the presence of holes in the crystal lattice, which are formed by the silica-alumina tetrahedra. Each tetrahedron is made of four oxygen anions with either an aluminum or a silicon cation in the center. Each oxygen anion with a -2 oxidation state is shared between either two silicon, two aluminum, or an aluminum and a silicon cation. 

The catalyst acid sites are both Bronsted and Lewis type. The catalyst can have either strong or weak Bronsted sites or, strong i)i weak Lewis sites. A Bronsted-type acid is a substance capable of donating a proton. Hydrochloric and sulfuric acids are typical Bronsted acids. A Lewis-type acid is a substance that accepts a pair of electrons. Lewis acids may not have hydrogen in them but they are still acids. Aluminum chloride is the classic example of a Lewis acid. Dissolved in water, it will react with hydroxyl, causing a drop in solution pH. 

The isomorphic substituted aluminum atom within the zeolite framework has a negative charge that is compensated by a counterion. When the counterion is a proton, a Bronsted acid site is created. Moreover, framework oxygen atoms can give rise to weak Lewis base activity. Noble metal ions can be introduced by ion exchanging the cations after synthesis. Incorporation of metals like Ti, V, Fe, and Cr in the framework can provide the zeolite with activity for redox reactions. 

The aluminum is incorporated in a tetrahedral way into the mesoporous structure, given place to Bronsted acidic sites which are corroborated by FTIR using pyridine as probe molecule. The presence of aluminum reduces the quantity of amorphous carbon produced in the synthesis of carbon nanotubes which does not happen for mesoporous silica impregnated only with iron. It was observed a decrease in thermal stability of MWCNTs due to the presence of more metal particles which help to their earlier oxidation process. 

Figure 2 (Left) shows the 27Al NMR spectra for the aluminosilicates. All of them displayed a tetrahedral incorporation of aluminum inside the silica network. That is corroborated by the signal at 55 ppm [9, 10] which also become more intense with the decreasing of Si/Al ratio. Octahedral aluminum was observed just for the samples with the lowest Si/Al ratio. Tetrahedral aluminum gives place to strong Bronsted acid sites, which were identified by the interaction of these groups with pyridine that generates a...

An explanation for this increase in selectivity with the addition of aluminum could be related to the better dispersion of iron metallic clusters, which could be anchored to the acidic sites on the mesoporous support, as observed by Lim et al [13] for bimetallic systems in MCM41. 

The tetrahedral Al incorporated in mesoporous silica reduces considerably the quantity of amorphous carbon, increasing the MWCNTs selectivity, due to the formation of strong Bronsted acidic sites, which allow a better dispersion of iron metallic clusters. The Fe/Al-MCM41 (10) showed the best results in CNT purity and yield. This indicates that the aluminum content and its tetrahedral structural incorporation play an important role in the CNT syntheses. 

The effect of crystal size of these zeolites on the resulted toluene conversion can be ruled out as the crystal sizes are rather comparable, which is particularly valid for ZSM-5 vs. SSZ-35 and Beta vs. SSZ-33. The concentrations of aluminum in the framework of ZSM-5 and SSZ-35 are comparable, Si/Al = 37.5 and 39, respectively. However, the differences in toluene conversion after 15 min of time-on-stream (T-O-S) are considerable being 25 and 48.5 %, respectively. On the other hand, SSZ-35 exhibits a substantially higher concentration of strong Lewis acid sites, which can promote a higher rate of the disproportionation reaction. Two mechanisms of xylene isomerization were proposed on the literature [8] and especially the bimolecular one involving the formation of biphenyl methane intermediate was considered to operate in ZSM-5 zeolites. Molecular modeling provided the evidence that the bimolecular transition state of toluene disproportionation reaction fits in the channel intersections of ZSM-5. With respect to that formation of this transition state should be severely limited in one-dimensional (1-D) channel system of medium pore zeolites. This is in contrast to the results obtained as SSZ-35 with 1-D channels system exhibits a substantially higher... 

In this reaction, an acidic site on the catalyst is shown as an aluminum atom bound to three oxygen atoms, and this is a site where an alcohol molecule can bind. If the acidic sites on the alumina are shielded by reacting it with a base, the oxide is no longer an effective acid catalyst. In other words, the acidity is removed by attaching molecules such as Nff3 to the acidic sites. 

The effect of probe molecules on the 27A1 NMR has attracted some attention recently. In particular, the determination of the quadrupole coupling constant, Cq, is a sensitive means to learn more about the bonding situation at the aluminum in acid sites, and how it reflects the interaction with basic probe molecules. If one of the four oxygen atoms in an AIO4 tetrahedral coordination is protonated, as in a zeolitic acid site, the coordination is somewhat in between a trigonal and a tetrahedral A1 environment [232]. The protonated oxygen decreases its bond order to A1 to approximately half of its size compared to an unprotonated zeolite. 

III.B.3. Lewis Acid Sites and Extra-Framework Aluminum. 260... 

It has been proposed that hydride transfer in zeolites requires the presence of two adjacent Brpnsted acid sites (69). In light of the above-mentioned theoretical examinations and also adsorption isotherms of 1-butene and n-butane on USY zeolites with various aluminum content (70), this proposition seems unlikely. 

Pyridine sorption studies on EDTA-dealuminated Y zeolites at various temperatures (54,58), as well as measurements of differential heats of adsorption of ammonia on aluminum-deficient Y zeolites (57,59) have led to the conclusion that aluminum-deficient Y zeolites have stronger acid sites than the parent zeolite. 

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