富硅壳层结构的无粘结剂MWW钛硅分子筛用作高选择性、 高稳定性的丙烯环氧化

环氧丙烷(PO)是一种重要的高活性丙烯衍生物,被广泛用于生产各种商业化学品(丙二醇、聚氨酯和表面活性剂等).目前,工业生产PO主要有传统的氯醇法(CP),共氧化法(叔丁基过氧化氢法、乙苯过氧化氢法和异丙苯过氧化氢法)和过氧化氢直接氧化法(HPPO).其中,HPPO具有反应条件温和、活性高、选择性好和污染小等特点,被认为是一种极具竞争力的环境友好型PO生产工艺.目前,基于TS-1/H2O2/甲醇催化体系的固定床连续HPPO工艺已经实现了工业化(陶氏/巴斯夫、赢创/伍德和中国石化).但是,溶剂甲醇会导致PO醇解开环,使PO选择性降低,而且甲醇和PO存在共沸问题,使PO纯化分离的操作复杂,能耗和成本增加.本课题组之前报道过Ti-MWW在溶剂乙腈中比TS-1在溶剂甲醇中表现出更好的催化性能(Stud.Surf.Sci.Catal.,2007,170,1236–1243.),尤其是质子型惰性溶剂乙腈的存在可以消除PO醇解副反应,极大地提高了PO选择性.因此,开发和设计以乙腈为溶剂的工业Ti-MWW催化剂具有重要的学术和应用价值.工业HPPO过程通常在固定床反应器中进行,需要具有一定机械强度的催化剂来降低压降,因此需要对催化剂原粉进行成型处理.粘结剂是制备成型催化剂的必要添加剂,通常是催化惰性组分,但是它们的引入会降低催化剂中有效活性组分的比例,而且大量的粘结剂会覆盖在沸石的表面及孔口,导致活性中心的可接近性和利用率降低.因此,设计高性能的工业Ti-MWW催化剂既要消除粘结剂对底物向活性位点扩散的负面影响,又要保持较高的机械强度.本文首次提出了一种可控的二次晶化策略,在双有机结构导向剂N,N,N-三甲基-1-金刚烷基氢氧化铵和六亚甲基亚胺的作用下,成功地将成型SiO2/Ti-MWW催化剂中的粘结剂组分转化为MWW沸石相,形成了具有富硅壳层的整体式无粘结剂Ti-MWW催化剂,提高了扩散效率的同时也保证了机械强度.在二次晶化过程中,母体Ti-MWW发生了部分溶硅,形成了大量的内部硅羟基巢,同时部分骨架TiO4物种转变为了具有更强路易斯酸性(LAS)的开放状态的TiO6物种,提高了催化剂对于H2O2的富集和活化能力,使得PO收率从13.1％提高到48.4％,催化使用寿命从75 h延长到了640 h.为了进一步提高催化性能,我们对催化剂进行了哌啶和氟化处理,提高了催化剂中TiO6物种的比例;将有强拉电子效应的氟引入分子筛骨架,提高了Ti的LAS强度.一方面,具有强LAS的改性催化剂能够促进H2O2的活化形成Ti-OOH中间体,提高Ti-OOH中Oα-Oβ的极化率,从而促进活性Oα转移;另一方面,形成的Si–F基团中的F可以与Ti-OOH中的末端H形成更强的氢键,从而稳定Ti-OOH,促进活性Oα有效转移和环氧化过程,抑制了H2O2的无效分解.此外,大量内部硅羟基巢被淬灭,抑制了PO水解副反应的发生.改性后的无粘结剂Ti-MWW催化剂具有2400 h的超长寿命,PO时空收率达到了543 g kg–1 h–1,每1 kmol H2O2消耗的溶剂乙腈质量仅为194.3 kg.

Structured binder-free MWW-type titanosilicate with Si-rich shell for selective and durable propylene epoxidation

Selective and durable fixed-bed catalysts are highly desirable for developing eco-efficient HPPO (hydrogen peroxide propylene oxide) process. The powder titanosilicate catalysts must be shaped before being applied in industrial processes. As the essential additives for preparing formed cata-lysts, binders are usually the catalytically inert components, but they would cover the surface and pore mouth of zeolite, thereby declining the accessibility of active sites. By recrystallizing the binder (silica)/Ti-MWW extrudates with the assistance of dual organic structure-directing agents, the silica binder was converted into MWW zeolite phase to form a structured binder-free Ti-MWW zeolite with Si-rich shell, which enhanced the diffusion efficiency and maintained the mechanical strength. Meanwhile, due to the partial dissolution of Si in the Ti-MWW matrix, abundant silanol nests formed and part of framework TiO4 species were transferred into open TiO6 ones, improving the accumula-tion and activation ability of H2O2 inside the monolith. Successive piperidine treatment and fluori-dation of the binder-free Ti-MWW further enhanced the H2O2 activation and oxygen transfer ability of the active Ti sites, and stabilized the Ti-OOH intermediate through hydrogen bond formed be-tween the end H in Ti-OOH and the adjacent Si-F species, thus achieving a more efficient epoxidation process. Additionally, the side reaction of PO hydrolysis was inhibited because the modification effectively quenched numerous Si-OH groups. The lifetime of the modified binder-free Ti-MWW catalyst was 2400 h with the H2O2 conversion and PO selectivity both above 99.5％.