Characterization of sulfated TiO2 prepared by the sol-gel method and its catalytic activity in the n-hexane isomerization reaction

Sulfated TiO2 samples prepared by sol-gel method with some variations in the preparation conditions were characterized by thermal analysis, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, Brönsted/Lewis surface acid sites ratio determination by infrared spectra of pyridine adsorption and surface area and pore diameter analysis. The most active samples for n-hexane isomerization were those with higher Brönsted/Lewis acid ratio and higher proportion of pore diameter above 40 Å.