Control of aluminum distribution in ZSM-5 zeolite for enhancement of its catalytic performance for propane aromatization

Abstract

Regulation of aluminum distribution in zeolite framework is an effective method for improving its catalytic performance for propane aromatization. Herein, we found that recrystallization and post-realuminization of ZSM-5 cannot only create hollow structures to enhance the diffusion ability, but also adjust the content and position of paired aluminum species in its framework. Various characterizations results confirmed that increase of paired aluminum content and inducement of more aluminum atoms sited in the intersection cavity are beneficial to the formation of aromatic products in propane aromatization. As a result, the hollow-structured ZSM-5 zeolite with more paired aluminum (H-200-hollow) showed higher propane conversion and aromatics selectivity than other samples at the same conditions. The catalytic performance of H-200-hollow can be further improved by ion-exchanging with a small amount of Ga(III) species. The propane conversion and aromatics selectivity of Ga-200-hollow reached as high as 95% and 70%, respectively, at 540 °C and 1 atm.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

propane aromatization / zeolite / aluminum distribution / recrystallization and post-realuminization

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Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Key R & D Program of China (Grant No. 2023YFB4103700), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. U1910203; 21991090; 21991092; 22322208; 22272195; U22A20431), Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province of China (Grant No. 202203021224009), Innovation foundation of Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. SCJC-DT-2023-06); Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (Grant No. 2021172).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-024-2439-8 and is accessible for authorized users.

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