Instant exactness synthesis and n-heptane hydroisomerization of high performance Ni/SAPO-11 catalyst

A new method called Instant Exactness Synthesis (IES), which was applied to prepare SAPO-11 molecular sieve, was introduced innovatively. The metal–acid bifunctional Ni/SAPO-11-IES catalyst with a Ni content of 4% was prepared by the impregnation method. Ni/SAPO-11-H catalyst was prepared as a comparative sample through the traditional hydrothermal method. In addition, the growth mechanism was used to explain the excellent performance of catalyst prepared by IES method in detail. The structure of Ni/SAPO-11-IES was confirmed via XRD and TEM characterization. The pore structure of the molecular sieve was determined by nitrogen adsorption and desorption. 29 Si MAS NMR measurement was used to illustrate multiple silicon environment which supported the excellent acidity in NH 3 -TPD measurement. Furthermore, the favourable dispersibility of Ni species was proved by the mapping of the elements and EDS. Benefiting from the superior performance of materials, Ni/SAPO-11-IES catalyst exhibited a higher catalytic performance for n-heptane hydroisomerization with n-heptane conversion of 82% and isoheptane selectivity of 86%, respectively, compared with other catalysts in the same system. The study also provides new ideas for the preparation of molecular sieve materials.