Synthesis and Acidity Study of Mixed MFI-MORD Type Zeolite

Zeolites of various nature are widely used in the chemical industry, the fuel and energy sector of the economy as sorbents, catalysts and materials for the creation of inorganic membranes for various purposes. At the same time, it is possible to change the acid properties of the surface of zeolites both by varying the ratio of silicon to aluminum or silicon to phosphorus, and by joint synthesis of zeolites of various types with different acidic properties. The presented article provides a method for the sequential production of a zeolite of a mixed structure type MFI and mordenite. Synthesis of the original MFI type zeolite was carried out using seed grains by the hydrothermal method for 72 hours, followed by washing and drying of the zeolite. To obtain a layer of mordenite on the surface of the MFI type zeolite, the initial zeolite was pretreated with alkali and then treated with n-butylamine. In this way, nine samples of zeolite with different acidic surface properties were obtained. Determination of the acidic properties of the surface was carried out by the method of ammonia chemisorption followed by its desorption from the surface of the zeolite. For this purpose, the test sample was loaded into a quartz cuvette, purged with argon at a temperature of 800°С, after which the temperature dropped to 150°С, and the surface of the zeolite was treated with ammonia. Subsequently, the test sample was heated up to 800°С with registration of desorption curves. The amount of adsorbed ammonia was carried out according to previously prepared calibration curves. The synthesized samples of zeolites had different acidity from 0.48 to 0.72 mmol(NH3)/g(sample). In this case, the total acidity of the samples correlated with the ratio of silicon to aluminum in the zeolite samples. Also, depending on the ratio of the MFI and mordenite structures in the zeolite sample, it is possible to vary not only the number, but also the strength of the formed acid sites. So, an increase in the content of mordenite contributes to an increase in the strength of acid centers. The developed method for the synthesis of mixed structure zeolites of the MFI type mordenite made it possible to control the surface acidity of the synthesized samples.