Superacid catalysis of light hydrocarbon conversion. Eleventh quarterly report, April 1, 1996--June 30, 1996

The new catalyst Fe- and Mn-promoted sulfated zirconia is remarkably active for the low-temperature (even room temperature) isomerization of n-butane to give isobutane in the near absence of side products. Thus this catalyst offers excellent potential for practical application in this process. The catalyst is so active that it even converts smaller alkanes, including propane and ethane. The ethane conversion is orders of magnitude slower than the butane conversion, and the prospects for practical application with ethane are apparently negligible. However, the results for ethane conversion provide strong evidence that the alkane conversions proceed (at least under some conditions) by protonation of the alkane with the catalyst; thus the catalyst is comparable to superacids, and the chemistry is analogous to that occurring in superacid solutions. This insight will be useful in further improvement of the catalyst and the potential process for butane isomerization. The catalyst is active for alkane cracking at temperatures of typically 200-300{degrees}C, and evidence, summarized here, indicates that numerous reactions of alkanes begin as the catalyst protonates the alkane reactant. The kinetics data for this family of reactions fall on a linear compensation effect plot; such data for reactions that do not proceed via such a mechanism do not fall near the line representing the compensation effect. Thus the analysis of the kinetics data provides a good diagnostic tool for understanding the fundamental chemistry of the acid-catalyzed hydrocarbon conversions