Nanoporous reactor with tunable selectivity on alkylation of ethylbenzene.
As nanoporous reactor, mesoporous silicates containing aluminum acidic site with n(Si)/n(Al) ratio up to 7 (AISBA-15) were prepared through a simple one-pot synthesis, which was recently developed by parts of us. The obtained materials were satisfactorily characterized by XRD and nitrogen adsorption/desorption and have regularly arranged hexagonal structures with pore diameters in the 9.6-11.8-nm range. The density and strength of the acid sites were determined using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of pyridine and controlled distribution between weak, moderate, and strong acid sites was demonstrated. The alkylation of ethylbenzene in a fixed-bed flow-type reactor using the AISBA-15 nanoporous reactor was carried out under various conditions such as temperature, feed ratio, flow rate, and time on stream. Interestingly, perfect regioselectivity between the m-isomer and the o-/p-isomers of diethylbenzene was achieved, where 100% selectivity of the m-isomer or the o-/p-isomers can be obtained by simply tuning the reaction temperature by using AISBA-15 catalyst with appropriate aluminum content.
Vinu
Ajayan
A
International Center for Young Scientists, National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
Shanmugapriya
Kandaiyan
K
Chandrasekar
Govindasamy
G
Murugesan
Velayudam
V
Ariga
Katsuhiko
K
D000327:Adsorption; D000535:Aluminum / Q000737:chemistry; D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*; D001555:Benzene Derivatives / Q000737:chemistry*; D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D002384:Catalysis; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008420:Manufactured Materials; D008956:Models, Chemical; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D011725:Pyridines / Q000737:chemistry; D017640:Silicates / Q000737:chemistry; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
C505110:AISBA 15; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D011725:Pyridines; D017640:Silicates; D000535:Aluminum; C004912:ethylbenzene; D009584:Nitrogen; D012825:Silicon