Aromatization of Isobutene Using H-ZSM-5/Oxide Composite Catalysts

Aromatization of isobutene was investigated using zeolite H-ZSM-5 (Si/Al = 30) as well as physical mixtures of H-ZSM-5 with metal oxides (Ga2O3, ZnO and CuO). The study was aimed at determining the effect on the selectivity to aromatic products by introducing an oxide/zeolite interface. Of the three oxides, ZnO was found to enhance the yield of aromatic products with the highest aromatic selectivity being attained with ZnO/H-ZSM-5 (1: 2 weight ratio). The addition of Ga2O3 had very little effect and the addition of CuO was not found to be beneficial.