Evaluation of the acid properties of porous zirconium-doped and undoped silica materials

A series of porous silica and Zr-doped silica molecular sieves, belonging to the MCM-41 and MSU families, were prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and N2 adsorption at 77 K. Their acid properties have been evaluated by NH3-TPD, adsorption of pyridine and deuterated acetonitrile coupled to FT-IR spectroscopy and the catalytic tests of isopropanol decomposition and isomerization of 1-butene. The acidity of purely siliceous solids were, in all cases, very low, while the incorporation of Zr(IV) into the siliceous framework produced an enhancement of the acidity. The adsorption of basic probe molecules and the catalytic behaviour revealed that Zr-doped MSU-type silica was more acidic than the analogous Zr-MCM-41 solid, with a similar Zr content. This high acidity observed in the case of Zr-doped silica samples is due to the presence of surface zirconium atoms with a low coordination, mainly creating Lewis acid sites.