Synthesis of spherical nano-ZSM-5 zeolite with intergranular mesoporous for alkylation of ethylbenzene with ethanol to produce m-diethylbenzene

Catalytic synthesis of m-diethylbenzene(m-DEB)through alkylation of ethylbenzene(EB)may be a promising alternative route in comparison with traditional rectification of mixed DEB,for which the top priority is to develop efficient and stable heterogeneous catalysts.Here,the spherical nano-ZSM-5 zeolite with abundant intergranular mesoporous is synthesized by the seed-mediated growth method for alkylation of EB with ethanol to produce m-DEB.The results show that the spherical nano-ZSM-5 zeolite exhibits better stability and higher alkylation activity at a lower temperature than those of commercial micropore ZSM-5.And then,the spherical nano-ZSM-5 is further modified by La_(2)O_(3) through acid treatment followed by immersion method.The acid treatment causes nano-ZSM-5 to exhibit the increased pore size but decreased the acid sites,and subsequent La_(2)O_(3) loading reintroduces the weak acid sites.As a result,the HNO_(3)-La_(2)O_(3)-modified catalyst exhibits a slight increase in EB conversion and DEB yield in comparison with unmodified one,and meanwhile,it still maintains high m-DEB selectivity.The catalyst after acid treatment achieves higher catalytic stability besides maintaining the high alkylation activity of EB with ethanol.The present study on the spherical nano-HZSM-5 zeolite and its modification catalyst with excellent alkylation ability provides new insights into the production of mDEB.

Tandem hydroalkylation and deoxygenation of lignin-derived phenolics to synthesize high-density fuels

Lignin is the most abundant naturally phenolic biomass,and the synthesis of high-performance renewable fuel from lignin has attracted significant attention.We propose the efficient synthesis of high-density fuels using simulated lignin cracked oil in tandem with hydroalkylation and deoxygenation reactions.First,we investigated the reaction pathway for the hydroalkylation of phenol,which competes with the hydrodeoxygenation form cyclohexane.And then,we investigated the effects of metal catalyst types,the loading amount of metallic,acid dosage,and reactant ratio on the reaction results.The phenol hydroalkylation and hydrodeoxygenation were balanced when 180℃ and 5 MPa H_(2)with the alkanes yield of 95%.By extending the substrate to other lignin-derived phenolics and simulated lignin cracked oil,we obtained the polycyclic alkane fuel with high density of 0.918 g·ml^(-1)and calorific value of41.2 MJ·L^(-1).Besides,the fuel has good low-temperature properties(viscosity of 9.3 mm^(2)·s^(-1)at 20℃ and freezing point below-55℃),which is expected to be used as jet fuel.This work provides a promising way for the easy and green production of high-density fuel directly from real lignin oil.

Small molecule deoxynyboquinone triggers alkylation and ubiquitination of Keap1 at Cys489 on Kelch domain for Nrf2 activation and inflammatory therapy

Activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2)by Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1(Keap1)alkylation plays a central role in anti-inflammatory therapy.However,activators of Nrf2 through alkylation of Keap1-Kelch domain have not been identified.Deoxynyboquinone(DNQ)is a natural small molecule discovered from marine actinomycetes.The current study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects and molecular mechanisms of DNQ via alkylation of Keap1.DNQ exhibited significant anti-inflammatory properties both in vitro and in vivo.The pharmacophore responsible for the anti-inflammatory properties of DNQ was determined to be theα,β-unsaturated amides moieties by a chemical reaction between DNQ and N-acetylcysteine.DNQ exerted anti-inflammatory effects through activation of Nrf2/ARE pathway.Keap1 was demonstrated to be the direct target of DNQ and bound with DNQ through conjugate addition reaction involving alkylation.The specific alkylation site of DNQ on Keap1 for Nrf2 activation was elucidated with a synthesized probe in conjunction with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.DNQ triggered the ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of Keap1 by alkylation of the cysteine residue 489(Cys489)on Keap1-Kelch domain,ultimately enabling the activation of Nrf2.Our findings revealed that DNQ exhibited potent anti-inflammatory capacity throughα,β-unsaturated amides moieties active group which specifically activated Nrf2 signal pathway via alkylation/ubiquitination of Keap1-Kelch domain,suggesting the potential values of targeting Cys489 on Keap1-Kelch domain by DNQ-like small molecules in inflammatory therapies.

Regulating^(*)COOH intermediate via amino alkylation engineering for exceptionally effective photocatalytic CO_(2) reduction

Photocatalytic reduction of CO_(2) into fuel represents a promising approach for achieving carbon neutrality,while realizing high selectivity in this process is challenging due to uncontrollable reaction intermediate and retarded desorption of target products.Engineering the interface microenvironment of catalysts has been proposed as a strategy to exert a significant influence on reaction outcomes,yet it remains a significant challenge.In this study,amino alkylation was successfully integrated into the melem unit of polymeric carbon nitrides(PCN),which could efficiently drive the photocatalytic CO_(2) reduction.Experimental characterization and theoretical calculations revealed that the introduction of amino alkylation lowers the energy barrier for CO_(2) reduction into^(*)COOH intermediate,transforming the adsorption of^(*)COOH intermediate from the endothermic to an exothermic process.Notably,the as-prepared materials demonstrated outstanding performance in photocatalytic CO_(2) reduction,yielding CO_(2)at a rate of 152.8μmol h^(-1) with a high selectivity of 95.4%and a quantum efficiency of 6.6%.

Pilot Test of Preparing 2-Alkylanthraquinone Using Alkylation-Oxidation Technology

To expedite the development of industrial technology for producing 2-alkylanthraquinone,a novel pilot test of alkylation-oxidation technology was conducted.The process mainly included anthracene alkylation,separation of anthracene and 2-alkylanthracene,oxidation of 2-alkylanthracene,and product purification.Optimal alkylation conditions yielded a 91.1%conversion of anthracene and a 71.73%selectivity for 2-alkylanthracene.To address the separation problem of anthracene and 2-alkylanthracene,solvent-assisted distillation technology was developed,resulting in a 98.9%purity of 2-alkylanthracene and a 91.82%separation yield.When the molar ratio of H2O_(2) to 2-alkylanthracene was 7:1,a 98.96%conversion of 2-alkylanthracene and a 99.94%selectivity for 2-alkylanthraquinone were achieved.A novel composition of 2-alkylanthraquinone,including 2-tert-butylanthraquinone,2-tert-amylanthraquinone,and 2-hexylanthraquinone,was developed.This composition could be effectively separated and purified through a combination of crystallization and washing processes.The elemental composition of the product met the existing standards,and its hydrogenation performance closely matched that of commercially available 2-tert-amylanthraquinone products.

Elucidating the effect of oxides on the zeolite catalyzed alkylation of benzene with 1-dodecene

In the present work, the effect of oxides on the alkylation of benzene with 1-dodecene was comprehensively investigated over MCM-49 n-heptanol, n-heptaldehyde and n-heptanoic acid were selected as the model oxides herein, and obvious decrease of lifetime could be caused by only trace amount of oxides added in the feedstocks. However, the deactivated catalysts were difficult to be regenerated by extraction with hot benzene. Additionally, coke-burning was also proved to be incapable to regenerate the deactivated catalysts mainly for the dealumination during calcination. Further characterizations complementary with DFT calculations were conducted to demonstrate that the deactivation was mainly due to the firm adsorption of oxides on the acid sites.

Understanding the interfacial behaviors of benzene alkylation with butene using chloroaluminate ionic liquid catalyst: A molecular dynamics simulation

To better understand the benzene alkylation with chloroaluminate ionic liquids(ILs) as catalyst, the interfacial properties between the benzene/butene binary reactants and chloroaluminate ILs with varying cation alkyl chain length and different anions were investigated using molecular dynamics(MD) simulations. The results indicate that ILs can obviously improve the interfacial width, solubility and diffusion of reactants compared to H_(2)SO_(4). The longer alkyl chains of cations present a density enrichment at the interface and protrude into the binary reactants phase. Furthermore, the ILs consisting of 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium cations([Omim]^(+)) and the stronger acidity heptachlorodialuminate anions([Al_(2)Cl_(7)]^(-)) are more beneficial to promote the interfacial width and facilitate the dissolution and diffusion of benzene in both the IL bulk and the interfacial region in comparison to the ones with shorter alkyl chains cations and weaker acidity anions. The information gives us a better guideline for the design of ILs for benzene alkylation.

Synthesis of Fluorene Derivatives Via TfOH-catalyzed Intramolecular Friedel-Crafts Alkylation Reactions

We devoloped an efficient and simple method to synthesize fluorene derivatives via intramolecular Friedel-Crafts alkylation of chalcones.The transform is catalyzed by TfOH in CH_(3)NO_(2)at 80℃and the yield is up to 99%.

Benzene alkylation with methanol over phosphate modified hierarchical porous ZSM-5 with tailored acidity

The acidity and acid distribution of hierarchical porous ZSM-5 were tailored via phosphate modification. The catalytic results showed that both benzene conversion and selectivity of toluene and xylene increased with the presence of appropriate amount of phosphorus. Meanwhile, side reactions such as methanol to olefins related with the formation of by-product ethylbenzene formation and isomerization of xylene to meta-xylene were suppressed efficiently. The acid strength and sites amount of Br?nsted acid of the catalyst were crucial for improving benzene conversion and yield of xylene, whereas passivation of external surface acid sites played an important role in breaking thermodynamic equilibrium distribution of xylene isomers.

Effect of ZSM-5 zeolite morphology on the catalytic performance of the alkylation of toluene with methanol

A series of ZSM-5 zeolites, with the morphologies of sphere, sphere with cubic particles on the surface, and cubic particles, were synthesized by hydrothermal method using n-butylamine as the template, assisted by the addition of NaC1 and crystal seed. X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscope （SEM）, X-ray fluorescence （XRF） and temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia （NH3-TPD） were used to characterize these samples. The samples were tested with toluene methylation reaction. The modified sample composed of spherical particles with 3 μm crystal particles on the surface had a para-xylene selectivity of 95% and maintained 79% of the initial conversion after running the reaction for 50 h. This modified samole showed the best stability amonz the tested three modified samoles.

Catalyst design strategies towards highly shape-selective HZSM-5 for paraxylene through toluene alkylation

With the shape selective zeolite catalyst,toluene alkylation with methanol to para-xylene(MTPX)technology could produce highly pure para-xylene(PX)in one step.The lower feedstock cost and less energy consumption in products separation make it more competitive compared to the current toluene disproportionation route.Thus,MTPX is regarded as the most reasonable production route for PX production.This article reviews the strategies that applied to the preparation of high-performance catalysts for MTPX,with special focus on the precise control of pore dimension and acid sites distribution in zeolite to achieve the highest selectivity to PX.The outlook of the MTPX catalyst is also proposed to guide the catalyst development in the field.

Highly selective ethylbenzene production through alkylation of dilute ethylene with gas phase-liquid phase benzene and transalkylation feed

A novel industrial process was designed for the highly selective production of ethylbenzene. It comprised of a reactor vessel, vapor phase ethylene feed stream, benzene and transalkylation feed stream. Especially the product stream containing ethylbenzene was used to heat the reactor vessel, which consisted of an alkylation section, an upper heat exchange section, and a bottom heat exchange section. In such a novel reactor, vapor phase benzene and liquid phase benzene were coexisted due to the heat produced by isothermal reaction between the upper heat exchange section and the bottom heat exchange section. The process was demonstrated by the thermodynamic analysis and experimental results. In fact, during the 1010 hour-life-test of gas phase ethene with gas phase-liquid phase benzene alkylation reaction, the ethene conversion was above 95%, and the ethylbenzene selectivity was above 83% （only benzene feed） and even higher than 99% （benzene plus transalkylation feed）. At the same time, the xylene content in the ethylbenzene was less than 100 ppm when the reaction was carried out under the reaction conditions of 140-185℃ of temperature, 1.6-2.1 MPa of pressure, 3.0-5.5 of benzene/ethylene mole ratio, 4-6 v% of transalkylation feed/（benzene＋transalkylation feed）, 0.19-0.27 h^-1 of ethene space velocity, and 1000 g of 3998 catalyst loaded. Thus, compared with the conventional ethylbenzene synthesis route, the transalkylation reactor could be omitted in this novel industrial process.

Deactivation mechanism of beta-zeolite catalyst for synthesis of cumene by benzene alkylation with isopropanol

The alkylation of benzene with isopropanol over beta-zeolite is a more cost-effective solution to cumene production. During the benzene alkylation cycles, the cumene selectivity slowly increased, while the benzene conversion presented the sharp decrease due to catalyst deactivation. The deactivation mechanism of betazeolite catalyst was investigated by characterizing the fresh and used catalysts. The XRD, SEM and TEM results show that the crystalline and particle size of the beta-zeolite catalyst almost remained stable during the alkylation cycles. The drop in catalytic activity and benzene conversion could be explained by the TG, BET,NH_3-TPD and GC–MS results. The organic matters mainly consisted of ethylbenzene, p-xylene and 1-ethyl-3-(1-methyl) benzene produced in the benzene alkylation deposited in the catalyst, which strongly reduced the specific surface area of beta-zeolite catalyst. Moreover, during the reaction cycles, the amount of acidity also significantly decreased. As a result, the catalyst deactivation occurred. To maintain the catalytic performance,the catalyst regeneration was carried out by using ethanol rinse and calcination. The deactivated catalyst could be effectively regenerated by the calcination method and the good catalytic performance was obtained.

Toluene Alkylation to Selective Formation of p-Xylene over Co-Crystalline ZSM-12/ZSM-5 Catalyst

The alkylation of toluene with methanol to selective formation of p-xylene has been systematically studied. ZSM-12 （MTW）/ZSM-5 co-crystalline zeolite in 40：60 proportions have been synthesized by the same molar gel composition, but at different temperatures and periods than that of ZSM-12 and ZSM-5, separately. All the prepared samples are characterized by XRD, SEM, BET, and XRF. The activity of toluene alkylation was investigated with a mixture of toluene and methanol as a feed over the ZSM-12, ZSM-12/ZSM-5 co-crystalline, ZSM-5, and physical mixture of ZSM-12/ZSM-5. From characterization, it is observed that the ZSM-12/ZSM-5 co-crystalline material is different from that of ZSM-12, ZSM-5, and their physical mixture. Further, the ZSM-12/ZSM-5 co-crystalline zeolite produces the highest content of xylene and has better selectivity for p-xylene than ZSM-12, ZSM-5, and their physical mixture.

Alkylation Activity of Benzene with Syngas over Cu-based Catalysts

A series of Cu-based catalysts were developed for alkylation of benzene with syngas. The catalyst samples were prepared by the impregnation method, and were characterized by XRD, XRF, NH3-TPD, and TEM and evaluated in a fixed bed reactor. The optimized reaction temperature of Cu/Al2O3/ZSM-5 catalyst was 350 ℃, while higher contents of copper were conducive to alkylation of benzene with syngas. The new medium strength acid centers in the catalyst created by Cu were beneficial to alkylation. Hydrogenation reaction of CO was executed on the metal centers without dissociation, Dimethyl ether(DME) was the major intermediate over Cu-based catalysts. Higher selectivity of methylation and lower selectivity of heavy aromatics were confirmed after the second metal(Zn, Mn, or V) was added to the copper catalyst. Cu was partly covered by Zn in the Cu-Zn/Al2O3/ZSM-5 catalyst leading to low dispersion and low activity of copper. Cu-Mn/Al2O3/ZSM-5 catalyst possessed the best yield of methylation product. Cu-Mn composite oxides were probably formed in fresh catalyst, which blocked the sintering of Cu in the reaction process. The loading of Cu decreased dramatically after the introduction of V, while causing an increase of the amount of medium strength acid centers at the same time. V prevented the sintering of copper particles during the reducing process and had a promoting effect on the activity of Cu.

Synthesis of HTLcs modified by K_(3)PO_(4) for side chain alkylation of toluene with methanol

A series of calcined HTLcs catalysts were prepared and modified with potassium phosphate by impregnation method to clarify the influence of catalyst alkalinity on the side chain alkylation of toluene with methanol for synthesis of ethylbenzene and styrene.The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD),N_(2)physical adsorption-desorption,Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR),Scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray photoelectron spectrometry(XPS),NH_(3)temperature-programmed desorption(NH_(3)-TPD)and CO_(2)temperature-programmed desorption(CO_(2)-TPD).It was found that the selectivity of styrene was highest(39.25%)when the K_(3)PO_(4)loading was 7.5 wt%.And the total yield of styrene and ethylbenzene could reach 65.08%with 10 wt%K_(3)PO_(4)loading.This might due to the fact that the addition of K_(3)PO_(4)could adjust the acid and basic sites of catalysts.In addition,appropriate strength and amount of basic sites were favorable to producing more styrene.

Performance of HZSM-5 as Catalyst for Alkylation of Methyl-naphthalene with Methanol in Supercritical Phase

The alkylation of methylnaphthalene（MN） with methanol in the presence of HZSM-5 is a promising route for producing 2,6-dimetylnaphthalene（2,6-DMN） with a high selectivity. However, the conversion of MN is very low and the catalyst will be deactivated rapidly with increasing time on stream. In this study, the effects of the reaction pressure on the reactivity, selectivity and life of the catalyst of alkylation of MN over HZSM-5 modified by BaO were investigated. It was observed that with the enhancement of pressure, the conversion of MN increased, but the selectivity of 2,6-DMN kept unchanged, which was about 40% -42%. When the alkylation was carried out under a supercritical condition, the conversion of MN was 3-6 times higher and the life of catalyst was 25-30 times longer than those at an ambient pressure. The thermogravimetric analyses of the deactivated catalysts at different reaction pressures indicate that the amount of coke deposited on the catalysts was about 10% to 12 %, and the coke-burning reactions mainly took place in a temperature range from 720 to 860 K, and the apparent activation energies of the coke-burning catalysts at 0. 1 MPa（ 10 h） and 7. 6 MPa（ 108 h） were, respectively, 65.90 and 84. 72 kJ/mol. It is concluded from tile results that the supercritical condition is advantageous to enhancing the conversion of alkylation and extraction in situ, and to transporting those high molecular-weight poly-aromatic compounds so as to extend the catalyst life successively.

Acidity effects of Hβ zeolite on olefin alkylation of thiophenic sulfur in gasoline

Olefin alkylation of thiophenic sulfur process was carried out in model gasoline, using Hβ zeolites with different Si/Al2 ratios as catalysts. In particular, the influence of acid properties of Hβ zeolites on its catalytic ability for the thiophene alkylation, xylene alkylation and hexene oligomerization was investigated. The results showed that the acidity of the Hβ zeolite was increased with the decrease of Si/Al2 ratio, but its catalytic ability was not always increased. In fact, it reached the maximal catalytic ability at Si/Al2 ratio of 66, and under the reaction conditions of 60 ℃, 1.5 MPa, WHSV 3.0 h^-1 and time on stream 2 h. At the ratio, the conversion of thiophene, xylene, and oligomerized hexene were 96.6%, 2.7% and 2.8%, respectively. An optimal Si/Al2 ratio exists for the catalytic performance of Hβ zeolite. By investigating the coke deposition of the used Hβ zeolite catalysts, it has been found that the optimal Si/Al2 ratio is attributed to the combined effect of the carbocation activation capability and the hydrogen transformation capability of the Hβ zeolite catalyst.

Study on Catalytic Alkylation of Benzene with Methanol over ZSM-22 and ZSM-35

The ZSM-22 and ZSM-35 zeolites were synthesized via the hydrothermal crystallization method. The samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, N_2 adsorption-desorption, NH_3-TPD, TPO, TG, and Raman spectrometry, and the results showed that ZSM-22 and ZSM-35 possessed similar microporous volume and acidity. In the alkylation of benzene with methanol, ZSM-22 and ZSM-35 showed different coke location, coking rate and graphitizing degree. Compared with the industrial ZSM-5, ZSM-22 and ZSM-35 both showed higher selectivity of toluene and xylene(93.63% and 96.50%,respectively) during the alkylation of benzene with methanol, and the selectivity of para-xylene in xylene isomers was51.96% and 41.45%, respectively. Meanwhile, the selectivity of ethylbenzene and C_9^+ aromatics was also lower than that of industrial ZSM-5.