Properties and reactivity of Zr-incorporated folded sheet mesoporous material for alkylation of anisole using tert-butylalcohol

Zr-incorporated Folded Sheet Mesoporous material (FSM-16) with different Si/Zr ratios = 90, 60, 10 have been synthesized by intercalating kanemite using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMABr) as the intercalating agent and zirconium sulphate precursors as the zirconium source. The resulting samples were characterized by means of inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technique, XRD, BET, TEM, FT-IR, UV–Vis and a temperature–programmed–desorption (TPD) of pyridine. The effect of the Si/Zr molar ratio on the textural properties of Zr-FSM-16 was investigated. The results reveal that the Zr-FSM-16 was successfully synthesized. The catalytic performance was examined in the vapor phase tert-butylation of anisole with tert-butanol at the temperatures between 423 and 523 K under atmospheric pressure. The results indicate that Zr-FSM-16 (10) was found to be more active than its relatives.The major products are found to be 4-tert-butyl anisole (4-TBA), 2-tert-butyl anisole (2-TBA) and 2,4 di-tert-butyl-anisole (2,4-DTBA). Maximum conversion of anisole is observed at 473 K and decreased after that with increasing temperature. The influence of molar ratio, influence of temperature, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) and time on stream on the selectivity of products was investigated and the results are discussed.