Synthesis, characterization and catalytic properties of the cobalt and nickel supported on HZSM-12 zeolite

Bifunctional catalysts consisting of cobalt and nickel supported on HZSM-12 zeolite were prepared and characterized using chemical analysis, XRD, FTIR, SSA and TPR experiments. Thermodesorption of n-butylamine was used to determine the acid sites densities. The results obtained by XRD and FTIR showed that the impregnation method used did not change the structure of HZSM-12 zeolite. For the other hand, SSA results indicated that the impregnation method used decreased the micropore surface area. Metal reduction started at approximately 379 °C for Co∗/HZSM-12 and 469 °C for Ni∗/HZSM-12 catalysts. The n-butylamine thermodesorption indicated the presence of weak, medium and strong acid sites. Bifunctional catalysts were active in n-hexane isomerization with a medium selectivity to branched hydrocarbons.