Study of the conversion of aromatic hydrocarbons on EMT-type zeolite: Influence of the partial substitution of Al by Ga Original Research Article

(Al,Ga)EMT-type zeolites (Al:Ga = 1:0, 0.75:0.25 and 0.5:0.5) were prepared and tested as catalysts in the gas-phase toluene–methanol alkylation and toluene–trimethylbenzene transalkylation. Various techniques including XRD, N2 sorption, MAS NMR and SEM were used to monitor the physico-chemical properties of these solids. The results revealed a high purity and crystallinity of the materials, and that the Ga atoms are entirely incorporated into the framework. The ammonia TPD measurements indicated that the isomorphous substitution of aluminium by gallium leads to a decrease of both acidic strength and acid sites concentration. The catalytic performances of the EMT-type solids in the conversion of methylaromatic hydrocarbons were correlated with their acid properties. Thus, the less acidic (Al,Ga)EMT samples exhibited a lower activity, but a higher selectivity towards the xylenes formation by comparison with (Al)EMT.