Effects of Novel Supports on the Physical and Catalytic Properties of Tungstophosphoric Acid for Alcohol Dehydration Reactions

The catalytic behavior of tungstophosphoric acid supported on modified mesoporous silica materials for the dehydration of 2-butanol and methanol was studied. Specifically, the supports evaluated here consisted of unmodified MCM-41 and SBA-15 mesoporous silicas, and these materials coated with sub-monolayer quantities of alumina, titania, and zirconia. UV-Vis DRS and ³¹P-NMR spectroscopy showed that the tungstophosphoric acid species retained their chemical identity in the synthesized supported form, although the spectra were influenced by the specific support material used. In addition, their acidic properties were evaluated using temperature-programmed oxidation of isopropyl amine. The differences in reaction rates between the samples reflect both the diversity in the amount of Brønsted acidic sites available for catalysis and dissimilarities in coking resistance. These two characteristics depend, in turn, on the type of support modifier used to prepare the catalyst.