TITLE:
The Physico-Chemical Characterization of Mesoporous Sulfated Zirconia Nanoparticles Prepared under Structure-Directing-Free for n-Hexane Isomerization
AUTHORS:
Gongyi Guo, Yuli Chen, Shi Xu
KEYWORDS:
Physico-Chemical Characterization, Mesoporous, Nanoparticle, Sulfated Zirconia, n-Hexane Isomerization
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering,
Vol.8 No.3,
April
16,
2020
ABSTRACT: This article describes the physico-chemical
characterization of the sulfated zirconia catalysts prepared from zirconyl
chloride, acetic acid and ammonium persulfate system under
structure-directing-free and calcined at 650°C. The catalysts were
characterized via an array of characterization techniques such as surface
acidity and texture measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible
spectroscopy (UV-VIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy
dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), high resolution transmission electron
microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), infrared spectroscopy
(IR), thermogravimetric measurement (TG) coupled with a quadrupole mass
spectrometer (MS), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy
(ICP-AES) and/or mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). It is clear from TG-MS, ICP-AES,
and IR analyses that the precursor of the catalyst is a sulphur species-doped
zirconium oxy-hydroxyl acetate complex. The presence of zirconium-bound sulfate
groups results in the superacidity of the catalyst and hence high activity in n-hexane isomerization. It is shown from nitrogen adsorption and desorption,
FESEM, and HRTEM measurements that the materials exhibit mesoporous and
nanocrystalline structure.