Ti-Beta zeolite has been successfully prepared via a reproducible and scalable two-step post-synthesis strategy, which consists of creating vacant T sites with associated silanol groups by dealumination of H-Beta and subsequent dry impregnation of the resulting Si-Beta with titanocene dichloride. The mechanism of Ti incorporation into the framework of Beta is investigated by diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) and multinuclear solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) spectroscopy. Characterization results obtained from diffuse reflectance ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) reveal that the majority of incorporated Ti species exist in the form of isolated tetrahedrally coordinated Ti(IV) in the zeolite framework while a minority exists in the form of isolated octahedrally coordinated Ti(VI) at framework or extra-framework positions. The obtained Ti-Beta zeolites are highly active and selective catalysts for the epoxidation of unsaturated ketones, e.g. 2-cyclohexen-1-one, with hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant. A quasilinear correlation between the epoxidation rate and the number of framework Ti(IV) species could be drawn evidencing that these Ti(IV) species are responsible for the epoxidation activity of the Ti-Beta zeolites under study. The impact of preparation parameters and reaction conditions on the catalytic performances of the Ti-Beta zeolites in the epoxidation of unsaturated organic compounds with hydrogen peroxide is discussed in detail.
27Al spin-echo, high-speed MAS (νrot = 30 kHz), and MQMAS NMR spectroscopy in magnetic fields of B0 = 9.4, 14.1, and 17.6 T were applied for the study of aluminum species at framework and extra-framework positions in non-hydrated zeolites Y. Non-hydrated γ-Al2O3 and non-hydrated aluminum-exchanged zeolite Y (Al,Na-Y) and zeolite H,Na-Y were utilized as reference materials. The solid-state 27Al NMR spectra of steamed zeolite deH,Na-Y/81.5 were found to consist of four signals. The broad low-field signal is caused by a superposition of the signals of framework aluminum atoms in the vicinity of bridging hydroxyl protons and framework aluminum atoms compensated in their negative charge by aluminum cations (δiso = 70 ± 10 ppm, CQCC = 15.0 ± 1.0 MHz). The second signal is due to a superposition of the signals of framework aluminum atoms compensated by sodium cations and tetrahedrally coordinated aluminum atoms in neutral extra-framework aluminum oxide clusters (δiso = 65 ± 5 ppm, CQCC = 8.0 ± 0.5 MHz). The residual two signals were attributed to aluminum cations (δiso = 35 ± 5 ppm, CQCC = 7.5 ± 0.5 MHz) and octahedrally coordinated aluminum atoms in neutral extra-framework aluminum oxide clusters (δiso = 10 ± 5 ppm, CQCC = 5.0 ± 0.5 MHz). By chemical analysis and evaluating the relative solid-state 27Al NMR intensities of the different signals of aluminum species occurring in zeolite deH,Na-Y/81.5 in the non-hydrated state, the aluminum distribution in this material was determined.