Special Session at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam:

Title:            Catalytic performance of Chloride-promoted Zirconium supported on Mesoporous Silica SBA-16 for Friedel-craft alkylation of Toluene by Benzyl Chloride
Authors:       Tran Ba Luan, Tang Tieu Binh, Nguyen Vu Truong, Nguyen Ngoc Hanh
Abstract:     Liquid - phase alkylation of toluene by benzyl chloride to form 1-methyl –4 (phenylmethyl) benzene over chloride-promoted zirconia supported on mesoporous silica SBA-16 was investigated. The catalyst was prepared by direct wet impregnation with reflux, followed by thermal decomposition. Its characterisation was determined by TGA, XRD, FT-IR spectroscopy, TEM images, ICP analysis and nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurements. The strength of acid sites on catalyst measured by NH3-TPD technique clearly showed the role of zirconium in the mesoporous structure also the effectiveness of chloride impregnation. The influence of reaction parameters such as molar reactant ratio, temperature, reaction time...was studied. In this work, the optimum conditions for the alkylation reaction were obtained with volume ratio of toluene and benzyl chloride of 1:1 at 110 oC. After 6 hrs, the toluene conversion reached approximately 62% with a selectivity of 54 % of the main product. This catalyst could be reused for several cycles with minimal loss of catalyst activity.

Keywords:   Alkylation; Zirconium; Mesoporous Silica; Wet Impregnation
Pages:         674-678

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