Study of the organic cation 2-ethyl-1,3,4-trimethylimidazolium in synthesis of zeolites and zeotypes.
zeolite, 2-ethyl-1,3,4-trimethylimidazolium, structure-direction, synthesis, ethanol dehydration
In this PhD thesis the structure-directing agent 2-ethyl-1,3,4-trimethylimidazolium was studied in the context of zeolite and zeotype synthesis in hydrofluoric media. Initially, it was deepened into the study of the pure silica zeolite HPM-1 to understand the role of the cation in the nucleation and growth, explaining the helicoidal channels and the order of secondary building units formation. Subsequently, an alternative methodology of heteroatom introduction, never reported for the present material, was also presented to give HPM-1 catalytic properties. As a result of it, three different Al-HPM-1 samples were obtained, characterized and tested in ethanol dehydration reaction. Finally, an exploratory study of the organic cation in zeotype synthesis (with Si, Al and P) was performed, giving two main SAPO phases: CHA and LTA zeotypes. It was proven that the SAPO-CHA structure was directed not only by the use of the organic cation and the hydrofluoric media, but also its obtention was influenced by the temperature and a combination of dilution and time. In the case of the SAPO-LTA, the directing effect was mainly due to the organic cation.