Diffusivities strong interaction with acid sites

Summarizing, we conclude that for binary mixtures of a linear and branched hexane in H-ZSM-5 and silicalite-1 two factors influence the respective diffusivities (i) the strong interaction with acid sites preferentially decreases n-hexane diffusivity and (ii) the blocking of intersection adsorption sites by 2-methylpentane decreases n-hexane diffusivity. At high loadings of the branched isomer the latter effect is dominating, and Anally the diffusivity of the linear hexane is totally determined by its branched isomer. 

In the case of H-SSZ-24, the values of the pre-exponential factor experimentally obtained (see Table 5.4) do not agree with the values theoretically predicted by the equation for a jump diffusion mechanism of transport in zeolites with linear channels, in the case of mobile adsorption [6,26], Furthermore, the values obtained for the activation energies are not representative of the jump diffusion mechanism. As a result, the jump diffusion mechanism is not established for H-SSZ-24. This affirmation is related to the fact that in the H-SSZ-24 zeolite Bronsted acid sites were not clearly found (see Figure 4.4.) consequently p- and o-xylene do not experience a strong acid-base interaction with acid sites during the diffusion process in the H-SSZ-24 channels, and, therefore, the hopping between sites is not produced. 

Summarizing, we observe that the presence of acid sites causes a decrease in the self-diffusivity of n-hexane and 2-methylpentane. In H-ZSM-5, we find that the diffusivity of n-hexane in mixtures with its branched isomer is determined by two factors (i) the interaction with acid sites, strong for the linear alkane, which decreases the diffusivity and (ii) the presence of 2-methylpentane which has an order of magnitude lower diffusivity. At low 2-methylpentane loadings the influence of the acid sites is dominating. However, at a loading of about 2.7 molecules per unit cell, the effect of pore blocking by the preferential location of the branched alkane in the intersections dominates. The diffusivities are then more or less equal in silicalite-1 and H-ZSM-5. 

The catalytic activity of the zeolitic framework is strongly dependent on the Si Al ratio, i.e. the concentration of the potential catalytic sites. This structural feature, as well as the spectroscopic and energetic properties of the Br0nsted acid sites, has also been investigated by empirical force field techniques. However, in contrast to the adsorption and diffusion phenomena, the stability of the acid sites, and their acid strength is a result of a subtle balance of covalent and ionic bonding interactions, with an active involvement... 

A number of methods are used for studying the sorption of basic probe molecules on zeolites to learn more about zeolite acidity. A common disadvantage of all the examinations is that adsorbed basic probe increases the electron density on the solid and, thereby, change the acidic properties of the sites examined. From this aspect it seems advantageous to probe the acid sites with a weak base, e. g., with a hydrocarbon. It was shown that adsorption of alkanes is localized to the strong Brdnsted acid sites of H-zeolites [1, 2]. However, recent results suggest that usually the diffusion in the micropores controls the rate of hydrocarbon transport [3-5]. Obviously, the probe suitable for the batch FR examination of the sites has to be non-reactive and the sorption dynamics must control the rate of mass transport. The present work shows that alkanes can not be used because, due to their weak interaction with the H-zeolites, the diffusion is the slowest step of their transport. In contrast, acetylene was found suitable to probe the zeolitic acid sites. The results are discussed in comparison with those obtained using ammonia as probe. Moreover, it is demonstrated that fundamental information can be obtained about the alkane diffusivity in H-zeolites... 

Figure 13 displays the self-diffusivities of n-hexane and 2-methylpentane in silicalite-1 and H-ZSM-5 as a function of the ratio of the hydrocarbons. The self-diffusivities of both hexanes linearly decrease with increasing gas-phase fraction of the branched hexane in the gas phase for the non-acidic and acidic zeolite. In H-ZSM-5, the mobility of alkanes is approximately two times slower than in silicalite-1. Obviously, the presence of acid sites strongly affects the molecular transport due to stronger interactions with the n-hexane molecules. A similar effect of Bronsted sites on the single component diffusion of aromatics was observed in MFI zeolites with different concentration of acid sites [63-65]. The frequency response (FR) technique provided similar results... 

A comparison between sihcalite-1 and H-ZSM-5 teaches that acid sites have a profound influence on the self-diffusivity of alkanes. The self-diffusivities of both components decrease strongly, and we observe a significant preferential adsorption of the linear over the branched hexane. This is caused by the relatively stronger interaction of the linear hexane with the acid sites. On the contrary, 2-methylpentane loadings in mixtures in sihcahte-1 and H-ZSM-5 are very close. In H-ZSM-5, the diffusivity of the hnear alkane in mixtures with the branched alkane is influenced by two factors... 

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