Chromium catalysts supported on mesoporous silica for ethylene tetramerization: Effect of the porous structure of the supports

• Mesoporous supported chromium catalysts were prepared for ethylene tetramerization.
• Influence of pore structure of the catalysts on the reactivity was investigated.
• The chromium was immobilized on mesoporous silica in different supported patterns.
• The supported patterns affected catalyst performance for ethylene tetramerization.
• The selectivity to 1-octene was increased due to confinement effect.

Supported chromium catalysts were prepared by loading Cr(acac)3 and N-isopropyl bis(diphenylphosphino)amine (PNP) onto methylaluminoxane-modified MCM-41 and SBA-15. The structure of supported catalysts was characterized and the influence of the pore structure of supports on the reactivity for ethylene tetramerization was investigated. The results revealed that the chromium was immobilized on the mesoporous silica in different supported patterns, which was affected by the pore size of the supports and affected catalyst performance. The highest selectivity toward 1-octene was provided by the SBA-15-supported Cr(acac)3/PNP catalyst, and this value was higher than that of the homogeneous analogs.

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