Preparation of Hierarchical Mesoporous MFI-Type Zeolite Using Cost-Effective and Sustainable Hard Template

The preparation of hierarchical mesoporous zeolites has lately become one of the principal focuses in the catalysis field. In this work, hierarchical mesoporous ZSM-5 zeolite (HM-ZSM-5) was successfully synthesized using soluble starch as a cheap mesoprogen. Techniques such as XRD, N2 adsorption, FT-IR and TGA have been conducted to study the structural characteristics of the synthesized mesoporous ZSM-5 zeolite. The XRD and FTIR results verified the formation of aluminosilicate with MFI framework topology. Nitrogen isotherm of the HM-ZSM-5 sample showed a broad hysteresis loop can be in the relative vapor pressure range of 0.4-1.0 bar corroborating the generation of hierarchical mesoporosity in the synthesized zeolite sample. Additionally, the BJH pore-size distributions of HM-ZSM-5 confirmed the presence of hierarchical mesoporsity. The prepared HM-ZSM-5 sample has high thermal stability comparable to that of the conventional microporous counterpart. In light of its excellent properties including hierarchical porosity, large surface area as well as high thermal stability, HM-ZSM-5 can be deemed as a potentially promising catalyst with efficient masstransfer, reduced diffusion limitation and improved resistance against coke deactivation.