Zeolite Bronsted acidity

Keywords Two-Dimensional correlation, Infrared spectroscopy, Dealuminated H-Y zeolite, Bronsted acidity, MQ-MAS NMR. 

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. 

Once a carbenium ion is formed by either of the mechanisms described above, it can desorb as an olefin and restoring the zeolite Bronsted acid site ... 

S. P. Greatbanks, I. W. Hillier, N. A. Burton, and P. Sherwood, /. Chem. Phys., 105, 3770 (1996). Adsorption of Water and Methanol on Zeolite Bronsted Acid Sites An Ab Initio, Embedded Cluster Study Including Electron Correlation. 

The structure work consists of synthesizing the faujasite material and characterizing it by X-ray diffraction. The mechanism of the synthesis has been studied and an investigation has been made of the nature of the replacement of the sodium ion by the ammonium ion and of the details of the process of the decomposition of the ammonium ion into the protonic zeolite (Bronsted acid) and decationated zeolite (Lewis acid). (We shall call the material in which the cation has been displaced by a proton and then heated to remove the proton as water, the decationated material.)... 

In recent years, a lot of research effort has been directed towards dehydroaromatisation of methane in which methane is converted to aromatic products such as benzene and naphthalene in addition to hydrogen. Perhaps the most well studied system has been that employing Mo/ZSM-5 based catalysts, where the bifunctional interaction between the zeolite Bronsted acidity and molybdenum species is well recognised. Under reaction conditions, the active molybdenum species are known to be in the form of carbides or oxycarbides, and recently it has been proposed that the a-MoCi-x phase is the most active form. Deactivation, primarily due to coke formation, is well precedented in this reaction and represents a major obstacle to be overcome in the successful application of these catalysts. In this respect, it is interesting to note that Ichikawa and co-workers have published studies indicating that the inclusion of low levels of CO or CO2 in the feed can promote the reaction via the suppression of coke formation in the case of both Mo/HZSM-5 and Re/HZSM-5 catalysts. Other approaches adopted towards this aim have been the inclusion of second metal components and a reduction of the acid strength of the HZSM-5 support. ... 

It must be noted that the phenol/aldehyde reaction can be catalyzed by Bronsted acids (protonation of the carbonyl oxygen) as well as by Lewis acids (coordination of the carbonyl oxygen). In the latter case one Lewis centre (e.g. Al ) can accommodate and activate both the phenol and the aldehyde (cq. the benzyl alcohol, in the consecutive reaction). As a consequence, ortho-substitution is favoured [14,15]. The high 2,2 -dihydroxydiphenylmethane selectivity we obtained with homogeneous Al " -catalysis and with 7-alumina is consistent with these data. Additionally, the finding that the H - US - Y catalyzed toluene/formaldehyde-condensation gives a low 2,2 -selectivity, 19% [16], compared to the 32% we obtained with phenol, also indicates the hydroxyl-group plays a role. However, transalkylation, reported to lead to ortho-substitution in condensations of phenol with methanol on both zeolite- and non-zeolite Bronsted acid catalysts [17], can t be ruled out. 

The polarizability of zeolitic Bronsted acidic sites has been calculated using a classical electrostatic interaction scheme and compared to silanol. A larger effective polarizability has also been found for the bridged OH group with a Si cation, even in absence of the Lewis-acid promotion of silanol by Al. ... 

Factors other tlian tire Si/Al ratio are also important. The alkali-fonn of zeolites, for instance, is per se not susceptible to hydrolysis of tire Al-0 bond by steam or acid attack. The concurrent ion exchange for protons, however, creates Bronsted acid sites whose AlO tetraliedron can be hydrolysed (e.g. leading to complete dissolution of NaA zeolite in acidic aqueous solutions). 

Reaction of 1 mole of aminals 352 with 4 mol of methyl 3-aminocrotonate in the presence of the solid acids montmorillonte clay (Kio) and ZF520 zeolite as strong Bronsted acidic catalysts, gave 1,4-dihydropyridines 353 and 2-methyl-4//-pyrido[l, 2-n]pyrimidin-4-one (99MI8). 

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. 

Bronsted acid sites in HY-zeolites mainly originate from protons that neutralize the alumina tetrahedra. When HY-zeolite (X- and Y-zeolites... 

The previous sections have shown that desihcation of ZSM-5 zeohtes results in combined micro- and mesoporous materials with a high degree of tunable porosity and fuUy preserved Bronsted acidic properties. In contrast, dealumination hardly induces any mesoporosityin ZSM-5 zeolites, due to the relatively low concentration of framework aluminum that can be extracted, but obviously impacts on the acidic properties. Combination of both treatments enables an independent tailoring of the porous and acidic properties providing a refined flexibility in zeolite catalyst design. Indeed, desihcation followed by a steam treatment to induce dealumination creates mesoporous zeolites with extra-framework aluminum species providing Lewis acidic functions [56]. 

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. 

Since their development in 1974 ZSM-5 zeolites have had considerable commercial success. ZSM-5 has a 10-membered ring-pore aperture of 0.55 nm (hence the 5 in ZSM-5), which is an ideal dimension for carrying out selective transformations on small aromatic substrates. Being the feedstock for PET, / -xylene is the most useful of the xylene isomers. The Bronsted acid form of ZSM-5, H-ZSM-5, is used to produce p-xylene selectively through toluene alkylation with methanol, xylene isomerization and toluene disproportionation (Figure 4.4). This is an example of a product selective reaction in which the reactant (toluene) is small enough to enter the pore but some of the initial products formed (o and w-xylene) are too large to diffuse rapidly out of the pore. /7-Xylene can, however. 

Figure 3.53. IR transmission absorption spectrum of pyridine adsorbed on partly dehydroxylated HY zeolite (Van Bekkum et al, 1991) B = Bronsted acid sites L = Lewis acid sites.

Two-Dimensional correlation analysis to study Bronsted acid sites in zeolites... 

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