n-Octane aromatization on Pt-containing non-acidic large pore zeolite catalysts

Platinum catalysts supported on the potassium-form of different large-pore zeolites (i.e. K-LTL, K-BEA, K-MAZ, and K-FAU) have been tested for n-octane aromatization at 500 °C. All catalysts were prepared by the vapor phase impregnation (VPI) method. It was found that the Pt/K-LTL catalyst exhibit a better aromatization performance than the other zeolite catalysts. However, due to secondary hydrogenolysis, the C8 aromatics produced inside the zeolite are converted to benzene and toluene. By contrast, a non-microporous Pt/SiO2 catalyst did not present the secondary hydrogenolysis. Therefore, despite a lower initial aromatization activity, Pt/SiO2 results in higher selectivity to C8 aromatics than any of the other zeolite catalysts. All fresh catalysts were characterized by hydrogen chemisorption and FT-IR of adsorbed CO. In addition, the residual acidity of the supports was analyzed by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) of ammonia. In agreement with previous studies, it was found that after reduction at either 350 or 500 °C, the Pt/K-LTL showed much higher Pt dispersion than other catalysts. It is known that the structure of L zeolite can stabilize the small Pt clusters inside the zeolite channel. By contrast, FT-IR indicated that a large fraction of platinum clusters were located outside the zeolite channels in the case of Pt/K-BEA and Pt/K-MAZ catalysts.