Influence of different modified β zeolite on skeletal isomerization of n-hexene in the presence of hydrogen

Zeolite β was modified via treating with oxalic acid and doping with magnesium, and the influence of different modified zeolite β on skeletal isomerization of n-hexene in the presence of hydrogen was investigated. Moreover, parent β and modified β were characterized by XRD, N2 physisorption, IR, NH3–TPD, 27Al MAS NMR and 29Si MAS NMR, respectively. The results indicated, compared with parent β, β treated by oxalic acid was found that non-framework aluminum was removed effectively, and surface aluminum and framework aluminum were eliminated partly, which resulted in considerable decrease in the amount of acid sites. In contrast, the introduction of magnesium has little effect on crystalline structure of β, but it can reduce the amount of strong Brönsted acid sites. Noticeably, when β was modified by the combination of oxalic acid treatment and Mg dope, it can not only remove non-framework aluminum and reduce the amount of acid sites, but also facilitate the stability of crystalline structure of β and further eliminate strong Brönsted acid sites due to the introduction of Mg. The evaluation results of skeletal isomerization of n-hexene in the presence of hydrogen showed that, compared with parent β, β modified by the combination of oxalic acid treatment and Mg dope exhibits better activity and stability.