Facile Fabrication of ZSM-5 Zeolite Catalyst with High Durability to Coke Formation during Catalytic Cracking of Paraffins

Post-synthetic HNO 3 treatment of ZSM-5 zeolite synthesized in the absence of organic structure-directing agent removes framework Al selectively from the external surface, producing a unique ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst that has very few acid sites on its external surfaces. The resulting external acid sites can be readily deactivated at the early stage of the reaction, giving a potentially long-life catalyst as a result of a high durability to coke formation during the cracking of hexane or other paraffin molecules.