Iron and manganese promoted sulfated zirconia: acidic properties and n-butane isomerization activity

Sulfated zirconia catalysts promoted with Fe and Mn have been synthesized and the acidity characterized by IR spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine. The catalytic isomerization of n-butane was investigated in a fixed bed reactor operated at low conversion at atmospheric pressure and 250 °C. The main effect of the promoters was to change the ratio Brönsted:Lewis acidity of the samples. The catalytic activity was found to be correlated with the number of strong Brønsted acid sites.