Silver‐Promoted Dehydroaromatization of Ethylene over ZSM‐5 Catalysts

The shape selectivity of ZSM-5 (MFI type) catalysts is ideal for the production of C6–C8 aromatics. Developing high-performance zeolite catalysts with improved selectivity to aromatics, particularly from diversified (non-petroleum) feedstocks, has broad commercial appeal. Non-oxidative coupling (NOC) of ethylene was examined over Ag-ZSM-5 catalysts at 400 °C and shows that Ag+ sites promote dehydroaromatization with enhanced selectivity to toluene and xylenes. Metal exchange of H-ZSM-5 results in Ag zoning wherein Ag+ site density is higher on the exterior of ZSM-5 particles. Catalyst performance was characterized with varying Ag loading as well as the use of methane co-feed. Aromatic selectivity is about 60 % on Ag-ZSM-5 compared to 20 % on H-ZSM-5, which is qualitatively consistent with density functional theory (DFT) showing that ethylene forms strong complexes with Ag+ (Lewis acid) sites. DFT calculations also reveal that ethylene activation on H+ (Bronsted acid) sites is more energetically favorable, and likely constitutes the first mechanistic step in ethylene-to-liquids (ETL) reactions. Ag-ZSM-5 is thus identified as an effective catalyst for low-temperature ETL reactions that has the potential to outperform conventional metal-exchanged zeolites.