The Role of Zinc Cations in the Conversion of Isobutane into Aromatics over Mechanical Mixtures of ZnO and H-ZSM-5

Abstract
Mechanical mixtures of ZnO and H-ZSM-5 show high activities and selectivities for the aromatization of isobutane. The temperature-programmed desorption spectra of ammonia and the infrared spectra of adsorbed pyridene revealed that a solid–solid ion-exchange occurs between ZnO and H-ZSM-5. The presence of Zn cations in the zeolite channels not only enhances the dehydrogenation, but also the C–C bond cleavage of isobutane. A mechanism for the activation of isobutane is proposed.
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