Tuning the Structural and Textural Properties of H-ZSM-5 through Si/Al Molar Ratio Variation

One of the most widely used MFI-type zeolites is ZSM-5. The silicon-to-aluminum (Si/Al) molar ratio, which determines the acidity of the framework and the textural architecture that is formed, has a large impact on the catalytic and adsorptive performance of this zeolite. In this study, two ZSM-5 samples with Si/Al molar ratio of 80 and 120 (Z-T80-TE-170 and Z-T120-TE-170) were hydrothermally synthesized at the same crystallization temperature of 170°C with tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH) as the structure-directing agent and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the silica source. The samples were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and N2 physisorption (BET, BJH, DFT and t-plot analysis).