Preparation of hierarchical SSZ-13 by NH4F etching

NH4-SSZ-13 is etched with an aqueous solution of 40 w/% NH4F under different time/temperature conditions to obtain hierarchical derivatives. The etched zeolites are characterized by XRD, SEM, N-2 physisorption, Si-29/Al-27/F-19 MAS NMR, ICP-AES, and their acidity monitored by in situ FTIR spectroscopy using acetonitrile as a probe molecule. The results highlight that the zeolite is very sensitive to high temperature and high liquid-solid ratio treatments leading to substantial crystallinity losses. These two parameters need careful tuning to obtain hierarchical derivatives retaining important characteristics as micropore volume and framework Si/Al ratio. The catalytic activity of the modified SSZ-13 is evaluated in the n-propanol conversion.