Insight into the Acidity and Catalytic Performance on Butane Isomerization of Thermal Stable Sulfated Monoclinic Zirconia

Sulfated monoclinic zirconia (M-SZ) with high thermal stability and high catalytic performance on butane isomerization were obtained by hydrothermal method followed with sulfation treatment. The acidity of M-SZ was studied by 31P MAS NMR, with trimethylphosphine (TMP) as the probe molecule, and the catalytic performance of 1-13C-n-butane over M-SZ was monitored by 13C MAS NMR spectroscopy. Both Brønsted and Lewis acids were observed on M-SZ. Only Brønsted acid strength shows close relation to the activation energy of butane isomerization, and the M-SZ catalyst with the strongest Brønsted acid strength shows the lowest activation energy of 46.4 kJ·mol−1. The catalytic stability tests were evaluated at 673 K for 240 h, which shows that sulfated monoclinic zirconia has higher thermal stability than sulfated tetragonal zirconia.