In Situ Synthesis of Metal-Containing ZSM-5 and It
In Situ Synthesis of Metal-Containing ZSM-5 and It
In Situ Synthesis of Metal-Containing ZSM-5 and It
org/journal/acsodf Article
more dispersed, and the synthesis is more convenient, omitting ments, the samples were outgassed under a vacuum of 1.33
the postprocessing step. × 10−3 Pa at 300 °C for 12 h. The external surface area and
Su et al.23 obtained nanosized H-ZSM-5 zeolites isomor- microporous volume were calculated with the BET equation
phously substituted by Ga and tested their catalytic perform- and the t-plot method, respectively. The mesopore size e
ances in the 1-hexene and FCC gasoline aromatization. The Ga distributions were calculated with the Barrett−Joyner−
isomorphous substitution can facilitate the formation of both B Halenda (BJH) equation.
and L acid sites, leading to higher aromatic yield. Zhang et al.24 The NH3-temperature-programmed desorption (TPD)
prepared an Fe-modified ZSM-5 via a direct method used for experiments were performed in a Quantachrome automated
the conversion of biomass to light olefins, with the results chemisorption analyzer. The TPD profiles were obtained over
showing that the Fe-modified ZSM-5 catalyst increased the a temperature range from 40 to 800 °C at a constant heating
olefins yield significantly. These above experiments prove that rate of 10 °C/min. The pyridine adsorption infrared
transition metals can be synthesized in situ into molecular spectroscopy (Py-IR) of the sample molecular sieve was
sieves to provide excellent catalytic properties. carried out using an Avatar 360 (Nicolet instrument), which
In this work, we introduced three metals (Ga, La, and Zn) measures the distribution of B acid and L acid on the sample
by in situ synthesis, a process more convenient than ion molecular sieve and records the vibration of the molecular
exchange and impregnation, to investigate the effects of these sieve skeleton.
three kinds of metals and Zn content on the reaction of The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of the samples
methanol to aromatics. The relationship between the B/L of was carried out using an ESCALAB250 (Thermo instrument).
molecular sieves with different Zn contents and their aromatic The test conditions used were as follows: the Al target was an
selectivity was studied. The results provide a reference for a anode, the test voltage was 10 kV, and the current was 20 mA.
simple preparation method of metal-containing molecular The electron binding energy of C 1s of graphite carbon was set
sieves and suitable metal loading used in the methanol-to- to 284.8 eV, and the measured binding energy was corrected
aromatics reaction. by this value.
2.3. Catalyst Testing in the MTA Reaction. The
2. EXPERIMENTAL SECTION experiment was carried out by using MTA as a model reaction.
2.1. Synthesis of the M/ZSM-5 Molecular Sieve. ZSM- These prepared molecular sieve catalysts were evaluated in a
5 zeolite was synthesized with the molar composition of self-made stainless steel fixed bed reactor (L = 300 mm, Φ16 ×
SiO2:0.026Al2O3:0.2Na2O:0.15NaCl:0.2DEA:25H2O from a 3 mm) under atmospheric pressure at 450 °C, with a single
mixture of sodium hydroxide (NaOH, AR), sodium chloride methanol feed. A fixed weight of catalyst (3.5 g) with a 40−60
(NaCl, AR), silica sol (40 wt % SiO2, 0.4 wt % Na2O), mesh was put in the constant temperature zone of the stainless
aluminum sulfate octadecahydrate (Al2(SO4)3·18H2O, AR), steel reactor monitored with a thermocouple and packed with
and diethylamine (DEA, AR). The prereaction and the inert filler quartz sand with a 40−60 mesh at both ends. The
crystallization were conducted at 100 °C for 24 h and 170 catalyst was preheated to the desired temperature for 6 h in a
°C for 72 h in a rotating Teflon-lined stainless steel autoclave flowing nitrogen atmosphere (71 mL/min). The nitrogen gas
(200 rpm), respectively. The solid products were recovered by was turned off at the beginning of the reaction, and the raw
centrifugation and washed with deionized water repeatedly material was pumped into the reactor with a liquid weight
until the mother liquid showed a pH value of 7−8, followed by hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 5 h−1. The reaction was
drying at 100 °C overnight and calcination at 550 °C for 6 h in started at 450 °C; the products were condensed and separated
air. The hydrogen type ZSM-5 zeolite was obtained through by a gas−liquid separator, and the liquid and gas products were
ion-exchanging with an aqueous NH4NO3 solution at 80 °C analyzed by an EWAI GC-4000A instrument connected to an
for 12 h and subsequent calcination at 550 °C for 4 h. The FID detector and an EWAI GC-4000A instrument equipped
HZSM-5 zeolite is marked S-0. with TCD detectors, respectively. The methanol conversion
Selected amounts of GaCl3·6H2O, La(NO3)3·6H2O, or and product selectivity were obtained based on the GC results.
ZnCl2 are added to the above sol (before transfer to autoclave) The calculation formula is as follows:
to obtain S-1 (0.15% Ga), S-2 (0.15% La), S-3 (0.15% Zn), S-4 maro
(0.35% Zn), and S-5 (0.5% Zn), separately, following the steps yield = × 100%
mCH3OH,in
above. The metal loading percentage of the catalyst is the
proportion of the modified metal element in the dry basis of
nimi /M i
the feed. selectivity = × 100%
2.2. Characterization of Samples. The crystallographic (mCH3OH,in mCH3OH,out )/MCH3OH
structures of prepared samples were determined from X-ray
diffraction (XRD) patterns collected with a Bruker D8 Here, maro is the mass of aromatics (benzene, methyl-
Advance diffractometer using Cu Kα (k = 1.5406 Å) radiation benzene, and trimethylbenzene), ni is the number of C
with a fixed power source (40 kV, 40 mA) and 2θ range from contained in product i, mi is the mass of product i, and Mi is
5° to 50°. The relative crystallinity (%) was calculated from the the relative molecular mass of product i.
area in the diffraction angles of 2θ = 23.1°, 23.3°, 23.7°, 23.9°,
and 24.4°, where the area of the S-0 sample was defined as 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
100%. The chemical compositions of the samples were 3.1. Characterization of the ZSM-5 Catalysts. Metal-
determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy on a containing ZSM-5 molecular sieves were prepared by an in situ
PANalytical B V Axios-Advanced instrument. synthetic method. Figure 1 shows the XRD patterns of
N2 adsorption−desorption isotherms of the samples were different samples each with different diffraction peak intensities
tested using a TPDRO1100 Series apparatus (Thermo but all containing the characteristic peaks of the MFI structure.
Instruments). Before performing the adsorption measure- The introduction of the metal in situ did not change the
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Table 2. XPS Analysis of Surface Elements of HZSM-5 Zeolites under Different Zn Contents
electron binding energy/eV surface relative content/%
sample Si 2p Al 2p O 1s Zn 2p3 wSi (%) wAl (%) wO (%) wZn (%) n(SiO2)/n(Al2O3)
S-0 103.35 74.04 532.75 24.86 2.31 72.84 20.67
S-3 103.65 74.65 532.85 1022.14 26.35 1.87 71.58 0.20 26.98
S-4 103.55 74.45 532.80 1022.72 24.16 2.25 73.30 0.29 20.60
S-5 103.45 74.25 532.86 1022.45 24.95 2.42 72.30 0.34 19.79
interaction of the B acid and L acid.29 After adding Zn, the Figure 6 shows a pyridine adsorption infrared spectrum and
absorption peak at 1625 cm−1 shifted to 1616 cm−1, but this a hydroxyl group spectrum from a sample molecular sieve
shift was not observed with the addition of Ga or La. Other catalyst. The effect of Zn content on the intensity of each peak
studies have seen the peak at 1616 cm−1 with the introduction in Figure 6b shows that the peak intensities of 1450 and 1616
of Zn species. Figure 5c shows two obvious hydroxyl vibration cm−1 are positively correlated with the Zn content, and the
bands on S-0: one is the vibrational peak of aluminum hydroxy peak intensities of 1490, 1540, and 1635 cm−1 are negatively
correlated with the Zn content. These results are a further
at 3610 cm−1, with strong B acidity, and the other was the
indication that the peaks at 1450 and 1616 cm−1 were caused
terminal silicon oxyhydroxide at 3740 cm−1.30,31 The vibration by the L acid, that the Zn increase enhanced the L acid peak,
peak did not change with the ion exchange and can be used as and that the B acid peak was weakened. Figure 6c shows two
a reference. After hydrothermal modification, the vibration of hydroxyl vibration bands at 3610 and 3740 cm−1 on the
the molecular sieve at 3610 cm−1 weakened, indicating that the samples.32 The introduction of Zn did not create a new
hydrothermal modification would lead to the reduction of the measurable hydroxyl vibration peak, indicating that Zn does
B acid. not form hydroxy Zn ions (Zn(OH)+) on aluminum hydroxyl
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total acid weak acid peak/ strong acid peak/ weak acid peak area strong acid peak area strong acid/weak
sample amount/mmol g−1 °C °C fraction/% fraction/% acid
S-0 1.23 270 500 58.15 41.85 0.720
S-1 1.23 323 567 63.16 36.84 0.583
S-2 1.09 279 508 59.21 40.79 0.689
S-3 1.33 282 511 62.65 37.35 0.596
S-4 0.89 265 492 63.32 36.68 0.579
S-5 0.73 249 469 66.38 33.62 0.507
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Figure 5. IR spectra of different samples: (a) skeleton IR spectra, (b) Py-IR spectra, and (c) IR spectra of hydroxyl.
Figure 6. IR spectra of different samples with different Zn loading: (a) skeleton IR spectra, (b) Py-IR spectra, and (c) IR spectra of hydroxyl.
Table 5. Acid Distribution of Different Samples in the product is high, and the selectivity of BTX is low. When
the loading is between 0.15 and 0.35, the B/L is reduced to
sample B acid L acid B/L
about 0.7, and the aromatics selectivity is obviously improved
S-0 0.265 0.127 2.294 under the cooperation of the two. When the load increases to
S-1 0.160 0.115 1.393 0.5, the advantage of route b is obvious, and the olefin
S-2 0.179 0.120 1.486 selectivity increases significantly; however, the increase in CO
S-3 0.233 0.190 1.466 + CO2 selectivity indicates that the proportion of methanol
S-4 0.174 0.330 0.695 decomposition increases, accelerating catalyst deactivation, and
S-5 0.137 0.378 0.509 the aromatics selectivity drops instead. It can be seen that B/L
needs to be within a certain appropriate range, and the two
the life of the molecular sieve, and improve the stability. Figure pathways can match each other to play the best role.
8a demonstrates the effect of the B/L value on the molecular Therefore, in this work, when the value of B/L was 0.695,
sieve selectivity of aromatics after a 2 h time on stream. The B/ the reaction of methanol to aromatic hydrocarbons was most
L value decreased as the Zn content increased, and the favorable, giving the highest selectivity to aromatics and
aromatic hydrocarbon selectivity first increased and then providing excellent stability.
decreased. Figure 8b shows that, with increased Zn loadings,
the low carbon olefin selectivity increased. The authors suggest 4. CONCLUSION
that the introduction of Zn covers the original B acid, resulting
in a decrease of the center of the B acid that inhibits the ZSM-5 molecular sieves containing Zn, La, and Ga and with
gathered olefin and suppresses the aromatics alkylation different Zn contents were synthesized by the in situ synthetic
reaction. The increased selectivity for high carbon aromatics method, and their textural and acidic properties and catalytic
is more likely to lead to catalyst coking and a reduction in the performance in MTA were investigated. The results indicated
stability of the catalyst. that the acid distribution was associated with the aromatics
As shown in Figure 9, the generation of aromatics can be yield and was significantly influenced by the type and amount
divided into two pathways: (a) cycloalkane and alkene of metal. Zn was the most favorable metal for the MTA
hydrogen transfer (HT) at the B acid site and (b) cycloalkane reaction. When the loading is 0.35%, the aromatics selectivity
dehydrogenation (DH) at the Zn-L acid site. When the loading reaches 56%, 26% higher than the parent ZSM-5. The in situ
is less than 0.15%, the acid content of B is higher than that of L synthesis method used in this work provides a more
acid, and a is more dominant than b; the selectivity of alkanes convenient and efficient method for synthesizing metal−
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Figure 7. (a) Aromatization properties of different samples. (b) Aromatization properties of different samples.
Figure 8. (a) Effect of B/L ratio on the selectivity of aromatics. (b) Product selectivity of different samples.
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