Basic catalytic properties of as-synthesized molecular sieves

A series of as-synthesized molecular sieves have been tested and revealed useful as basic catalysts for Knoevenagel condensation under mild conditions. In order to understand the role of the Si/Al ratio, the structure, porosity and template agent, fifteen structures were synthesized and studied in this reaction. Siliceous and large pore molecular sieves showed high conversion levels (97%), while aluminum zeolites, even when containing large amount of organic material, showed distinct activity behavior, which was mainly dependent on the amount of framework silicon. This result, in addition to literature data, indicated that most likely siloxy anions (SiO−) are the basic active sites. XPS measurements of these hybrid organic–inorganic catalysts showed that O1s binding energy is influenced by the presence of organic template, leading to the conclusion that they are interacting with framework oxygen, possibly balancing framework anions. Calcined siliceous molecular sieves, which had only silanol groups (SiOH), showed negligible catalytic activity (lower than 2%). As-synthesized siliceous molecular sieves have proven to be useful for basic heterogeneous catalysis, particularly for the synthesis of fine chemicals or for catalytic processes demanding strong basic sites.