Abstract:

A series of mesoporous aluminosilicate catalysts was synthesized from the synthesizing system with different amounts of citric acid (CA) as poreforming agent and  NaOH as pH adjusting agent. XRD, TEM and N2 adsorption characterization results confirm the presence of interconnected wormlike meso
porous structure in the mesoporous aluminosilicate catalysts. The effect of different amount CA on the porous structures of the mesoporous aluminosilicate materials was investigated. NH₃TPD characterization suggests that most of Al was introduced into mesoporous framework and imparted acid sites. Catalytic test shows that the mesoporous aluminosilicate catalyst with  n(CA)∶n(Al)=13 exhibits higher catalytic activity than the other catalyst for the alkylation of phenol with tert\|butanol. The excellent catalytic activity and high 2,4-diTBP selectivity are mainly assigned to the acidity together with the large pore size of the mesoporous aluminosilicate catalyst.

Key words: mesoporous aluminosilicate, citric acid (CA), alkylation, phenol tertbutyl alcohol