Hydroisomerization of n-butane over hybrid catalysts Original Research Article

The influence of reduction temperature, metal incorporation technique, and metal loading on the hydroisomerization of n-butane over hybrid catalysts prepared by physically mixing H-mordenite (HMOR) and Pd/montmorillonite (Mont) was studied. Temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (TPDA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AA), BET surface area/pore size distributions, and chemisorption measurements were used to characterize the catalysts. The method used to load the metal was found to be an important factor that affected the final catalyst acid properties, metal dispersion and, hence, its activity and selectivity. Thus, the highest selectivity to isobutane was achieved over an ion-exchanged catalyst. Compared to classic metal-supported HMOR catalysts, hybrid catalysts showed a higher selectivity to isobutane.