Synthesis and catalytic performance of zeolite-Y supported on silicon carbide in n-heptane cracking

In this work, we demonstrate a facile approach for the synthesis of zeolite-Y crystals (size, ca. -400 nm) supported on silicon carbide (SiC) with the assistance of the cationic template (polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride, PDDA). The polymeric cationic template used to treat SiC particles induces a positive charge on SiC surface which electro-statically attracts negatively charged aluminosilicate seeds and promotes the growth of zeolite (ZY) particles over SiC, thus leading to the formation of stable ZY@SiC supported catalysts. The supported ZY catalysts with different weight ratio of ZY and SiC were synthesized and characterized by various techniques such as XRD, SEM, SEM-EDX, SEMmapping, TEM, STEM, FT-IR, Al-27 MAS NMR and N-2 sorption. The characterization of the supported ZY catalysts suggests the uniform growth of ZY particles over SiC together with the creation of hierarchical micro-mesopores assembly. In the catalytic cracking of n-heptane, the catalyst ZY@SiC-50 displayed a remarkable improvement in reaction rate when compared to commercial zeolite-Y (CBV-600) amounting to 3.5 folds enhancement. Interestingly, the light olefins yield is also substantially improved. At WHSV of 8 h(-1) and 475 degrees C, the highest light olefin yield (24-36 %) was achieved over ZY@SiC-50 whereas the reference catalyst, CBV-600 produced lower light olefins yield (7-17 %). Moreover, the supported ZY catalyst exhibited less deactivation rates. This improved performance is attributed to the hierarchical micro-mesopores assembly created by the homogeneous dispersion of zeolite crystals on SiC which offers fast diffusion pathways for the reactants and enhanced accessibility to active sites thus leading to higher observed reaction rates and fast diffusion of products thus minimizing the occurrence of side reactions.