Activity-acidity relationship in zeolite Y Part 1. Transformation of light olefins

Reactions of ethene, propene, 1-butene and iso-butene over two series of catalysts, HNaY (prepared from NaY zeolite) and HNaUSY (prepared from NH4USY zeolite), were studied. The catalytic activity for the transformation of these olefins follows the expected order according to the ease of formation of the respective carbocations: ethene < propene < 1-butene < iso-butene, for all the samples that were studied. The catalytic results obtained over the HNaUSY series of catalysts are compatible with what was expected for light olefin transformation over acid catalysts. The catalytic activity of HNaY series of catalysts, however, does not follow a regular trend with the protonic content, showing a decrease when the protonic content is high. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.