Hydrothermally Stable Bimodal Aluminosilicates with Enhanced Acidity by Combination of Zeolite Y Precursors Assembly and the pH-Adjusting Method

Synthesis of Well-Ordered Mesoporous Aluminosilicates with High Aluminum Contents: The Challenge and the Promise

SBA-15 has recently emerged as a potential material for the catalytic conversion of large molecules. Usually, SBA-15 has a low content of aluminum due to the conventional acidic synthesis medium. Although a few approaches have been adopted to prepare Al-SBA-15 with a high alumina content, it is still challenging to prepare well-ordered Al-SBA-15 with a high alumina content. Here, we demonstrate a facile synthesis process in neutral mediums for the grafting of Al into the framework of SBA-15. This approach relies mainly on the dissociation of Si-O-Si bonds and the polymerization of Si-O-Si/Al bonds promoted by sodium persulfate (SPS) in neutral mediums. In this way, well-ordered Al-SBA-15 with a high aluminum content and enhanced acidity was obtained. Results of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) showed an n(SiO₂)/n(Al₂O₃) ratio of 13.7, much lower than that of the conventional sample (21.7) obtained in acidic medium. The characterization results indicated the presence of a well-ordered Al-containing mesophase with high hydrothermal stability. Notably, the Al content and the acidity of Al-SBA-15 can be tuned by changing the SPS amount.

Obtaining of Mesoporous Aluminosilicates with High Hydrothermal Stability by Composite Organic Templates: Utility and Mechanism

We have reported the synthesis of mesoporous aluminosilicates (MAs) with high hydrothermal stability via assembly of basic characteristic structure units of typical microporous zeolite Y. In spite of this, high consumption of organic template and H₂O remains a major obstacle to its industrial application. Herein, a facile and effective strategy called "composite templates" was employed to decrease significantly the amount of P123 and H₂O. In this method, composite micelles of P123/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) could be more easily dispersed in the solution due to the lowering of water's surface tension caused by the free hydroxyl groups of PVA. Moreover, the improved assembly ability of composite micelles in high concentration solution leads to the synthesis of hydrothermally stable MAs with 45% decrease of organic template P123 and 81% that of water amount. It was found that by the introduction of composite templates, the textural properties such as the surface area of materials, volume of pore, size of pore, and thickness were enlarged simultaneously. Meanwhile, this article presented an understanding into the assembly of composite micelles in the process of synthesis of MAs.

Novel non-hydrolytic templated sol–gel synthesis of mesoporous aluminosilicates and their use as aminolysis catalysts

A novel non-hydrolytic sol–gel (NHSG) synthesis of mesoporous aluminosilicate xerogels is presented.

A facile strategy to recycle template P123 from mesoporous aluminosilicates by ultrasonic extraction

High synthesis cost of mesoporous aluminosilicates (MA) limits their practical application. Recycling of copolymer template employed in preparation of MA is an effective way to reduce the synthesis cost. An ultrasonic extraction strategy for recycling of organic template P123 in MAs is reported. Effects of different extraction parameters on P123 recovery are investigated and the optimum conditions are obtained. 75.0% P123 is recovered from MAs within 10 min by one-step ultrasonication. Characterizations indicated that the resulting P123-free MA (MA-U) exhibits excellent properties compared with that of calcined products. Moreover, recovered P123 can be employed to synthesize high hydrothermally stable MA. This investigation provides a facile strategy to recycle P123 from MA.

High-Temperature Synthesis of Ordered Mesoporous Aluminosilicates from ZSM-5 Nanoseeds with Improved Acidic Properties

Ordered mesoporous SBA-15 analogs with different Si/Al ratios were successfully prepared in a two-step process from self-assembly of ZSM-5 nanoseeds at high temperature in mildly acidic media (473 K, pH 3.5). The obtained products were characterized as SAXS, XRD, N₂ sorption, FTIR, TEM, NH₃-TPD, AAS and ICP. The results show that the initial Si/Al molar ratio of ZSM-5 precursors strongly affects the final materials' properties. A highly condensed, well-ordered mesoporous SBA-15 analog with improved hydrothermal stability and acidic properties can be prepared from low aluminum containing ZSM-5 precursors (Si/Al ≥ 20). Reducing the initial Si/Al molar ratio to 10, however, leads to the formation of a disordered mesoporous SBA-15 type material accompanied by degraded textural and acidic properties. The gas phase cracking of cumene, carried out as probe reaction to evaluate Brønsted acidity, reveals that an increased density of Brønsted acid sites has been achieved over the SBA-15 analogs compared to conventional Al-SBA-15 due to the preservation of zeolite building units in the mesopore walls of the SBA-15 analogs.