Characterization and reactivity of aerogel sulfated zirconia-ceria catalyst for n-hexane isomerization

Sulfated zirconia doped with cerium has been prepared by sol gel process using the supercritical evacuation way of the solvent. The physicochemical and catalytic properties of aerogel solids AZC were compared as a function of both the Ce/Zr molar ratio and the calcination temperature. The samples were characterized by N 2 adsorption desorption, XRD, FTIR, RAMAN, XPS spectroscopy and TPD of NH 3 . The catalyst prepared with molar ratio Ce/Zr = 0.4 exhibits the high activity and selectivity toward isomerization product in the n-hexane isomerization reaction. This result is probably due to its important total acidity.