Synthesis and characterisation of acid mesoporous phosphate heterostructure (PPH) materials

Abstract

New stable acid mesoporous phosphate heterostructure materials, consisting of expanded zirconium phosphate with silica galleries, have been prepared using as precursor MCM-50 type lamellar zirconium phosphate, expanded with cetyltrimethylammonium as the surfactant, hexadecylamine as the co-surfactant, and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as the silica source. The amounts of co-surfactant and TEOS employed play a crucial role in the textural and acidic properties of the mesostructures. The obtained solids present a strong Brønsted acidity as deduced by the formation of iso-derivatives in the 1-butene isomerisation test.