Professor Richard D. Gonzalez' proposal is to maximize the performance of sulfated zirconia catalysts for n-butane isomerization by increasing the concentration of sulfate species that are active and resistant to coking. The sulfated zirconia will be prepared by co-deposition of sol-gel zirconia and silica or deposition of sol-gel zirconia on high-surface area silica support, followed by thermal treatment and sulfation. Several techniques will be used to relate the synthesis and treatment procedure to the fraction of active sulfate species and the catalytic performance. They include: deactivation profiles from the reaction, thermogravimetry-infrared spectroscopy (TG-IR) of SO2 and CO2 evolution, in particular SO2 at 600 C, coke deposition measured with TG-IR, and Broensted to Lewis acidity ratio determined by IR of adsorbed pyridine. The study's significance is based on the ongoing need for solid acid catalysts for alkane activation that would replace the environmentally risky liquid acid catalysts.
