Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2015, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (6): 801-805.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(14)60277-1

• Communications • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Incorporation of cerium atoms into Al-free Beta zeolite framework for catalytic application

Bo Tanga, Weili Daia, Xiaoming Suna,b, Guangjun Wua, Landong Lia, Naijia Guana, Michael Hungerb   

  1. a Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin) & Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China;
    b Institute of Chemical Technology, University of Stuttgart, 70550 Stuttgart, Germany
  • Received:2014-11-04 Revised:2014-12-04 Online:2015-05-21 Published:2015-05-21
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21373119), the Ministry of Education of China (IRT13022, IRT13R30); 111 Project (B12015), and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Abstract:

Ce(IV)-containing zeolite Beta was successfully prepared by a reproducible and scalable two-step post-synthesis strategy. This consists of creating vacant T sites that are associated with silanol groups by the dealumination of the H-Beta zeolite and a subsequent dry impregnation of the resultant Si-Beta zeolite with cerium (IV) isopropoxide. XRD, FT-IR, UV-Vis and 1H MAS NMR confirmed that Ce(IV) was successfully incorporated into the Beta zeolite framework by the post-synthesis procedures and that they exist as isolated atoms with tetrahedral coordination. The mechanism of Ce incorporation into the framework of Beta zeolite was confirmed by DRIFT spectroscopy. The ring-opening hydration of epoxides to their corresponding 1,2-diols was selected as a model reaction for an evaluation of the catalytic performance of the as-synthesized Ce-Beta zeolite.

Key words: Ce-Beta zeolite, Post-synthesis, Dealumination, Ring-opening hydration, Epoxide