He Han,Min Liu,Fanshu Ding,Yiren Wang,Xinwen Guo,Chunshan Song
The side-chain alkylation of toluene with methanol was studied on cesium-modified zeolite X prepared by ion-exchange and impregnation with different cesium precursors. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, Ar physical adsorption–desorption, NH3 temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), CO2-TPD, thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis, ultraviolet-Raman spectroscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Cesium hydroxide was found to be the most effective precursor for modifying zeolite X. Cesium ions bonded on the framework and cesium oxide formed in the pore were found to take different roles in this reaction. Cesium ions could adsorb and activate toluene or modify the basicity of framework oxygen, whereas cesium oxide could ensure the effective conversion of methanol to formaldehyde and inhibit the process of coke deposition. A possible reaction pathway for this reaction over cesium-modified samples was described. The synergistic effect of cesium ions and cesium oxide was proven to be important for the formation of styrene and ethylbenzene.
Lang Liu,Ying Jing,Tielin Du,Xinzheng Li,Jiasheng Song
In this study, zeolite beta nanoparticles were incorporated into an interfacial polymerization procedure for the fabrication of thin film nanocomposites (TFNs). The successful introduction of zeolite beta into the polyamide (PA) selective layer was confirmed by surface attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The introduction of porous structured zeolite beta improved the water flux and rejection rate of the TFN membrane compared to the PA thin film composite (TFC) membrane. A quantitative performance coefficient is further proposed in this work, comprehensively considering the flux and rejection rate to evaluate the performance of TFNs. For five salt solutions, we found that the TFN0.3 membrane with 0.3 wt% of zeolite particles had a high coefficient of performance. With the help of zeolite particles, the TFN0.3 membrane achieved a high flux of 92.53 L/(m 2 ·h) under an operating pressure of 5 bar. For ion separation from binary solutions, the TFN0.2 membrane with 0.2 wt% zeolite content was a better choice for a wide range of binary mixtures, which is because the addition of zeolite beta resulted in smaller pore sizes, the strongest zeta potential, and the thickest thickness (scanning electron microscope, SEM determined) of the TFN0.2 membrane. All these factors contribute to the selectivity of the TFN0.2 membrane. Our study provides an efficient and cost-effective method to simultaneously improve the permeability and rejection of nanofiltration membranes, facilitating the development of nanofiltration for water recovery.