Alkylation of isobutane/1-butene on methyl-modified Nafion/SBA-15 materials Original Research Article

Hydrophobicity modification of the intrinsic polarity of the surface of SBA-15 mesoporous by ethoxytrimethylsilane was used in this work to make hybrid organic–inorganic mesoporous matrix. This matrix was functionalized with perfluorosulfonic acidic Nafion resin by a post-synthetic impregnation method. Characterized by N2-physisorption, XRD, and transmission electron micrographs (TEM), all the materials synthesized were highly ordered. Elemental analysis, 29Si MAS NMR, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and potentiometric titration showed that trimethylsilane is grafted on the surface by capping the OHs and the Nafion resin was incorporated, revealing a strong solid acid with hydrophobic surface. The alkylation of isobutane/1-butene was thereafter evaluated on each material under specified conditions. Compared with the polar surface of conventional SBA-15 and commercial Nafion silica nanocomposite SAC-13, methyl-modified surface of SBA-15 material (denoted as Me-SBA-15) is a much better solid acid catalyst for isobutane/1-butene alkylation.