Metal-Exchanged β Zeolites as Catalysts for the Conversion of Acetone to Hydrocarbons

Various metal-β zeolites have been synthesized under similar ion-exchange conditions. During the exchange process, the nature and acid strength of the used cations modified the composition and textural properties as well as the Brönsted and Lewis acidity of the final materials. Zeolites exchanged with divalent cations showed a clear decrease of their surface Brönsted acidity and an increase of their Lewis acidity. All materials were active as catalysts for the transformation of acetone into hydrocarbons. Although the protonic zeolite was the most active in the acetone conversion (96.8% conversion), the metal-exchanged zeolites showed varied selectivities towards different products of the reaction. In particular, we found the Cu-β to have a considerable selectivity towards the production of isobutene from acetone (over 31% yield compared to 7.5% of the protonic zeolite). We propose different reactions mechanisms in order to explain the final product distributions.