Isomerization ofn-butane on the SO4/ZrO2 catalyst promoted by IV Period metals

The catalytic activity of superacidic systems based on SO₄/ZrO₂ and modified by IV Period metals in isomerization ofn-butane was studied. At low temperatures of the reaction, the introduction of Fe³⁺, Sc³⁺, Co²⁺, or Zn²⁺ ions (1%) increases the yield of isobutane by 1.5 times due to the activation ofn-butane on the sites created by the promoting ions. The addition of Cr³⁺, V⁴⁺, or Mn²⁺ (1%) decreases the catalytic activity because of a decrease in the catalyst acidity, most likely, due to the reduction of surface sulfur species. The influence of the nature of the support and surface additives of SiO₂, TiO₂, and ZrO₂ on the activity and selectivity of the catalytic system inn-butane isomerization was studied. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7 pp. 1276–1280, July, 1999