Control of the properties of catalysts for methane aromatization by synthesizing ZSM-5 zeolites with different crystallite sizes

MFI zeolite materials (ZSM-5) with crystal sizes in the range from 0.10 to 1.70 μm have been synthesized. Acidic and surface properties, phase and morphological composition of the prepared zeolites have been studied by the IR sprectroscopy, nitrogen porosimetry, XRD, and scanning electron microscopy. Increasing crystal size was shown to decrease the general acidity of the zeolite. Synthesized zeolites served as supports for molybden-containing catalysts for methane aromatization prepared by using the solid phase synthesis approach. Diffuse reflectance IR spectroscopy, thermoprogrammed desoption of ammonia and ²⁷Al NMR spectroscopy were used to characterize the physicochemical properties of the catalysts. An increase in the crystallite size of the zeolite favors a decrease in the acidity of the catalysts and inhibits the formation of alumina molybdate during the catalyst preparation. As a result, a tendency to coke formation is suppressed and the performance of the catalysts in methane aromatization improved: methane conversion and aromatic hydrocarbon yield increase.