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. 2018 Dec 31;3(12):18935-18942.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.8b02762.

Organotemplate-Free β Zeolites: From Zeolite Synthesis to Hierarchical Structure Creation

Ke Zhang  1 , Sergio Fernandez  1 , John A Lawrence 3rd  1 , Michele L Ostraat  1
Affiliations

Organotemplate-Free β Zeolites: From Zeolite Synthesis to Hierarchical Structure Creation

Ke Zhang et al. ACS Omega. .

Abstract

Interest in the production of β zeolites in the absence of organic structure-directing agent (OSDA) has continued to grow consistently during the past decade. During this time, numerous strategies have been proposed to manipulate the hierarchy of zeolite pore structures in order to facilitate the transport of bulky reactants and to improve the accessibility of active sites in zeolite catalysts. In this work, we describe an organotemplate-free route to produce hierarchical β zeolites. Using OSDA-free β as the starting zeolites, we explored the applicability of various postsynthetic approaches to create hierarchical structures with mesoporosity, including framework stabilization, dealumination, conventional desilication, and hydrothermal desilication. While framework stabilization and dealumination were not effective in generating mesoporosity, they were necessary as modification steps to determine the efficacy of hierarchical structure creation. Compared to conventional desilication, hydrothermal desilication produces larger mesopores and much better preservation of microporosity and acidity because of the occurrence of recrystallization. The cost-effective, scalable production of organotemplate-free hierarchical β zeolites could greatly enhance the adoption of β zeolites in oil refining and petrochemical industries, where the advantages of hierarchically structured zeolites can dramatically improve catalytic performances in formulated catalysts.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Characterization of OSDA-free β zeolite: (a) XRD (b) argon sorption isotherm (−186 °C) (c) SEM (d) NH3-TPD.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Si/Al ratios of stabilized OSDA-free β zeolites after acid treatment in diluted nitric acid solution (80 °C, 2 h).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Characterization of hierarchical β zeolites by conventional (65 °C, 30 min) and hydrothermal (150 °C, 21 h) desilication: (a) XRD (b) argon sorption isotherms (−186 °C) (c) PSDs (NLDFT) (d) NH3-TPD.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM (a) and TEM (b) images of hierarchical β zeolite after hydrothermal desilication.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Cumene uptake curves on microporous (OSDA-free) and hierarchical (hydrothermal desilication) β zeolites (35 °C, P/Po: 0.1).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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