Silicoaluminophosphate molecular sieves as potential catalysts for hydroisomerization of alkanes and alkenes

•Review summarizes the importance of silicoaluminiophosphate (SAPO) materials on hydroisomerization of hydrocarbons.•Importance of tuning acidic strength and structural properties of SAPO on hydroisomerization of hydrocarbon was elaborated.•Also described the structural flexibility of SAPO materials. Hydroisomerization of light linear naphtha hydrocarbons yield iso-alkanes and alkenes of C4–C8, which are capable of raising the octane number in a gasoline pool. Zeolite and zeolite-like molecular sieves such as silicoaluminiophosphates (SAPOs) with appropriate chemical and structural modification yielded the desired product. This article presents an overview of the various molecular sieve catalysts, their structural modifications, and the reaction conditions utilized for the hydroisomerization of hydrocarbons. In particular, the emphasis on the role of SAPO based molecular sieves and their importance in the tuning of hydroisomerization products are elaborated in detail herein.