Synthesis of metal-incorporated mesoporous crystalline silicates for oligomerization of propene

Abstract

Mesoporous crystalline silicates were synthesized with incorporation of various metal components such as Al, Ga, or Fe. Mesoporous silicate synthesized without metal incorporation showed the highest thermal stability. Although the thermal stability was weakened by metal incorporation, Al- and Fe-mesoporous-silicate with lower metal content (Si/metal atomic ratio of 200) maintained the high surface area about 600 m²/g after the calcination at 1000°C for 0.5 h. Even when the same surfactant (dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide) was used as template, the pore diameter and wall thickness were changed by the gel mixture composition and the thermal stability of mesoporous silicates could be enhanced by increase in wall thickness. The catalytic activity of Al-mesoporous-silicate was also increased with an increase in pH of the gel mixture before crystallization. Although the catalytic activity of mesoporous silicate was lower than the activities of the other zeolitic catalysts like ZSM-5, a considerable amount of oligomers was produced from propene even at the lower temperature range and the possibility for the production of larger organic molecules could be confirmed.