FT-IR spectroscopic investigation of the adsorption pyridine on the raw sepiolite and Fe-pillared sepiolite from anatolia

The adsorption of pyridine on the surface of the raw sepiolite and Fe-pillared sepiolite catalysts has been studied for the determination of the Brønsted and Lewis acid sites. The data obtained showed that the catalysts have medium Lewis acidity, but are also weak Brønsted acids, having active hydroxy groups in the catalysts, which give the ability to interact with pyridine by H-bonding and by protonation. Pyridine is a suitable basic probe for the quantification of the catalysts. The intercalation of the Fe-polycation within sepiolite was shown by X-ray diffraction in order to increase the interlayer spacings. q 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.