Effect of tin content on silica mixed oxides: Sulfated and unsulfated catalysts

Abstract

SnO 2-SiO 2 binary oxides were prepared by the sol-gel method, with different contents of tin oxide, and later sulfated. The resulting solids were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface area measurements and also titrated using Hammett indicators. To correlate the acidic properties with catalytic activity, solids were tested in the conversion of 2-propanol. Tin addition to SiO 2 produces two important effects: an increase in the surface area in most of the resulting mixed oxides and high catalytic activity for the dehydration reaction in the case of the sulfated samples.