Highly selective skeletal isomerization of cyclohexene over zeolite-based catalysts for high-purity methylcyclopentene production

Cyclohexene skeletal isomerization towards methylcyclopentene is an economically favorable process due to the higher added value of the product. Traditional oxide-based catalysts face the challenge of achieving both high activity and stability. In this work, cyclohexene skeletal isomerization is achieved under mild conditions over designed zeolite-based catalysts with 96.8 wt.% liquid yield, 95.8 wt.% selectivity towards methylcyclopentene and satisfactory stability for multiple runs. The favorable performance is attributed to the unique acidic, structural and morphological features of the optimized cobalt/NaUZSM-5 catalyst. Further experimental data and DFT studies suggest that a carboncationic mechanism might be followed and that the reaction mainly occurs within the internal pores of the zeolite structures.