Synthesis and characterisation of SAPO-34 with high surface area

SAPO-34 molecular sieve with a high surface area has been successfully synthesised using Y5669 (N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propy]aniline) functionalised fumed, silica as the silica source and tetraethylammonium hydroxide as a structure directing agent via a 60-day crystallisation time. X-ray diffraction result indicates that the sample is highly crystalline SAPO-34 and the scanning electron (electron) microscopy images show that the sample is nanosized with a size of ca. 200 nm. N-2 adsorption and ammonia temperature-programmed adsorption results indicate that the synthesised SAPO-34 sample exhibits a much higher microporous area and stronger acidity than the conventional SAPO-34. Moreover, the microporous surface area of the as-obtained SAPO-34 can reach 835 m(2) g(-1), which is difficult to realise using other synthesis methods.