Isoamylene Dimerization over Mesoporous Y Zeolites

Oligomerization of alkenes is a promising way for production of high-quality and eco-friendly liquid fuels, where zeolite catalysts are critical. In the zeolite catalysts, mass transfer and accessibility in the reaction are normally influenced by intrinsic micropores of zeolites, in particular, bulky or branched molecules are employed. Here, we report isoamylene (2-methyl-2-butene) dimerization over mesoporous HY zeolites obtained by facile NaOH treatments. These mesoporous HY zeolites exhibited high activity and good stability for the isoamylene dimerization compared with untreated HY zeolite. Powder XRD patterns, N2 physisorption, SEM, TEM, NMR, FTIR, and NH3-TPD techniques were used to characterize the porosity and acidity of the zeolites. These results showed that mass transfer and accessibility to the acid sites of the guest molecules are the key factors for the improvement of catalytic performances.