Preparation of mesoporous silica-alumina derived from FSM-16 and its catalytic activity for cumene cracking

Mesoporous silica-alumina catalysts with different alumina contents were prepared by impregnation of a mesoporous silica (FSM-16) with an alcohol solution of aluminium isopropoxide. The resulting mesoporous silica-alumina catalysts possess protonic acid sites, and exhibit activities for cumene cracking, though the activities are lower than that of an amorphous silica-alumina catalyst. The maximum activity as well as the maximum amount of protonic acid sites were observed for the sample with a Si/Al ratio of 4.1.