Synthesis, characterization and catalytic evaluation of zirconia-pillared montmorillonite for linear alkylation of benzene

Zirconia-pillared montmorillonite was synthesized by an ultrasonication method and characterized by XRD, FT-IR of adsorbed pyridine, XPS, XRF and low temperature nitrogen adsorption techniques. The basal spacing of d(0 0 1) reflection of the pillared clay estimated by XRD was found to be 20 Angstrom. XRD study showed well distribution of pillars without any non-pillared portion of the clay. FT-IR studies showed the formation of both Lewis and Bronsted acid sites due to pillaring. Pyridine desorption studies revealed that the Bronsted sites were stronger than Lewis acid sites. The activity of the Zr-PILC for the alkylation of benzene with long chain alpha-olefins [C-10-C-13] was investigated. The Bronsted acid sites played major role in this reaction. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.