Effect of different synthesis methods on the structural and catalytic performance of SBA-15 modified by aluminum

Two different aluminum-containing mesoporous Al/SBA-15 were prepared by post-synthesis method and direct synthesis method using P123 as structure directing agent and aluminum isopropoxide as the aluminum source. Samples were characterized in detail by XRD, N₂ adsorption, TEM,²⁷Al MAS NMR, and the acidic properties were performed by FT-IR of pyridine adsorption (Py-IR). The results show that Al/SBA-15 prepared by the direct synthesis method possessed higher BET surface area and larger pore volume. The acidic properties were investigated in Friedel-Crafts alkylation of phenol tert-butylation. The different synthesis method leads to distinct coordination of Al and intensity of acidity. Kinetics of the alkylation over Al/SBA-15 was also investigated. These results indicated that Al/SBA-15, prepared by post-synthetic grafting method, has more activity ability than the corresponding one synthesized by direct method since they contain more Lewis acid sites and Brönsted acid sites. The catalysts preserved almost their initial catalytic activity after four reuses.