(164c) Delaminated Versus 3-D SSZ-70: A Comparative Study of Zeolite-Catalyzed Toluene Alkylation

Exfoliated zeolites are of interest catalytically because they comprise large, crystalline external surfaces. The active sites that are on the external surface are accessible by larger reactant molecules and size constraints imposed by pore structure on larger product molecules have been reduced.  We investigate highly crystalline exfoliated materials based on delaminated and 3-D zeolitic SSZ-70 materials for catalytic alkylation of aromatics.  The active sites for the alkylation of toluene with propylene as catalyzed by these MWW-type solid acid catalysts are hypothesized based on related literature to be on or near the external surface, and not in the channels.  Our approach is to compare the activity (per mass of catalyst) and selectivity of the exfoliated zeolite, which retains a high structural integrity, with the calcined three-dimensional zeolite.  Our results highlight the opportunities that exfoliated zeolites offer over conventional zeolites in the catalysis of bulky molecules.