Preparation of HNaY zeolite by ion exchange under microwave treatment. A preliminary study

Acidic samples of Y zeolite were prepared by ion exchange promoted using microwave irradiation. Interesting exchange levels were obtained with only a few minutes of irradiation. The catalytic properties of these samples were evaluated using the transformation of iso‐octane; the observed conversions lie in the same range as those for the samples prepared by the conventional ion‐exchange method of stirring the mixture of the sodium form with an ammonium salt solution for several hours; the deactivation with time‐on‐stream was significantly reduced for the catalysts prepared by the irradiation method in the cases of highest activity.