Preparation and characterization of Pt/HMFI–SBA-15 hybrid catalyst for tetralin transformation

A Pt catalyst supported on a hybrid material, HMFI–SBA-15, was prepared. Both, support and catalyst (Pt/HMFI–SBA-15) were characterized by nitrogen physisorption, small and wide (2θ) angle XRD patterns, FT-IR, SEM and HRTEM. The acidic properties of the hybrid material were studied by cumene dealkylation and those of the catalyst were studied by FT-IR of adsorbed pyridine. The catalyst, Pt/HMFI–SBA-15, was tested for tetralin transformation at various reaction temperatures 498, 523, 548, 573, 585 and 598 K. Wide-angle XRD and FT-IR in the skeletal region indicate the presence of MFI zeolite fragments incorporated onto SBA-15. The characterization of the acid sites on the support by cumene dealkylation and FT-IR pyridine adsorption revealed the presence of Brönsted acid sites related to the HMFI zeolite fragments in the hybrid materials. For the catalyst, a homogeneous distribution of Pt clusters was found by HRTEM. In the transformation of tetralin, at all the reaction temperatures, the main products were trans + cis-decalins. However, at high reaction temperature ring contraction to spirodecane and dehydrogenation to naphthalene were observed. At 598 K, a maximum of 8% of ring contraction products was obtained.