Insight into Active Centers and Anti-Coke Behavior of Niobium-Containing SBA-15 for Glycerol Dehydration

Abstract

Niobium containing SBA-15 was prepared by two methods: impregnation with different amounts of ammonium niobate(V) oxalate (Nb-15/SBA-15 and Nb-25/SBA-15 containing 15 wt.% and 25 wt.% of Nb, respectively) and mixing of mesoporous silica with Nb2O5 followed by heating at 500 °C (Nb2O5/SBA-15). The use of these two procedures allowed obtaining materials with different textural/surface properties determined by N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, XRD, UV-Vis, pyridine, and NO adsorption combined with FTIR spectroscopy. Nb2O5/SBA-15 contained exclusively crystalline Nb2O5 on the SBA-15 surface, whereas the materials prepared by impregnation had both metal oxide and niobium incorporated into the silica matrix. The niobium species localized in silica framework generated Brønsted (BAS) and Lewis (LAS) acid sites. The inclusion of niobium into SBA-15 skeleton was crucial for the achievement of high catalytic performance. The strongest BAS were on Nb-25/SBA-15, whereas the highest concentration of BAS and LAS was on Nb-15/SBA-15 surface. Nb2O5/SBA-15 material possessed only weak LAS and BAS. The presence of the strongest BAS (Nb-25/SBA-15) resulted in the highest dehydration activity, whereas a high concentration of BAS was unfavorable. Silylation of niobium catalysts prepared by impregnation reduced the number of acidic sites and significantly increased acrolein yield and selectivity (from ca. 43% selectivity for Nb-25/SBA-15 to ca. 61% for silylated sample). This was accompanied by a considerable decrease in coke formation (from 47% selectivity for Nb-25/SBA-15 to 27% for silylated material).