Fabrication of nano-sized SAPO-11 crystals with enhanced dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether

摘要

Nano-sized SAPO-11 zeolite was successfully fabricated by a seed-induced quasi-solvothermal conversion (SIQSC) protocol without a secondary porogen that combined an in situ inoculating seed method (SI) and a quasi-solvothermal assisted conversion (QSC) process. The aggregation of SAPO-11 nanocrystals (20-30 nm) to give larger particles with an approximate 200 nm average size creates a lower acidity, larger surface area and higher inter-crystal mesoporosity than those in micro-sized SAPO-11 crystals. Importantly, the nano-sized SAPO-11 shows better performance in the dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether (DME) than Al2O3 and micro sized SAPO-11.