Carbocation mediated hydrocarbon reactions over acidic zeolite-type catalysts

Acid catalysis over zeolite type materials is one of the most important and fundamental topics in catalysis. Basic natural gas conversion processes like MTO (methanol to olefins), dimerisation, and C4 isomerisation can be performed using acid catalysis by zeolites and/or microporous SAPOs. In addition, refinery processes like catalytic cracking, reforming, aromatisation and C5-C6 isomerisation rely on zeolite based catalysts as well. There is a growing understanding that many of these reactions share comm on features regarding the elementary reaction mechanisms including deactivation. The Oslo groups have a long history of research on MTH-type reactions, and a break-throught in the understanding of the reaction mechanism has come during the past few years . In this project, our ambition is to bring this knowledge even further by studying the effect of individual material parameters on the selectivity of MTH-type reactions. Electronic effects, steric requirements as well as diffusion effects are among the m ain parameters affecting the reactions and they have previously not been studied in much detail. Although MTH-type reactions are the focal point of this project, we believe that the results of the project will be beneficial not only for the creation of a second generation of MTH catalysts, but also for tailoring of catalytic zeolite-type materials for other carbocation-mediated reactions.