Reactions of meta-Diisopropylbenzene on Acid Molecular Sieves

Abstract

Meta-diisopropylbenzene is reacted with propylene over the acid form of the molecular sieves SAPO-5, mordenite, offretite, beta, hexagonal and cubic faujasite (EMT and FAU), L, SAPO-37, and an amorphous silica-alumina at temperatures around 463 K in a flow-type fixed-bed reactor. A small amount of cracking is observed. However, the main reactions of meta-diisopropylbenzene are isomerization and alkylation. It is proposed that this alkylation can be used as a new test reaction to characterize the effective size of the voids in larger pore (12 T-atom rings or above) molecular sieves by measuring the weight ratio of 1,3,5- to 1,2,4-triisopropylbenzene formed. In most cases, this ratio increases with the increasing effective void size of the molecular sieves in the order: SAPO-5 < mordenite < offretite < beta < EMT = FAU < L < SAPO-37 < amorphous silica-alumina.

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