Physicochemical and catalytic properties of SAPO-31 materials prepared from the silica sources characterized by a different degree of polymerization

Two series of microporous silicoaluminophosphates SAPO-31 with different Si content (Si/Al = 0-0.5) were synthesized using silica sources characterized by various degree of polymerization (fumed silica and tetraethoxysilane). Physicochemical properties of the resulted materials were studied by X-ray diffraction, XPS, scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy. The nature of the silicon species was identified by Si-29 NMR method and the acidity was measured by IR-spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine. The activity and selectivity of Pd modified SAPO-31 samples from both series were evaluated in the isomerization of n-decane. It was found that the use of the monomer as a silicon source ensured more efficient silicon incorporation, which resulted in the higher activity of Pd/SAPO-31 catalysts. Moreover, the selectivity of these samples for isomerization was found to be independent of the silicon content and its distribution.