m-Cresol methylation: Role of internal and external acid sites in the product distribution

The effect of molecular shape and pore structure on local and nanoscale cresol behaviour in commercial zeolite catalysts

“…As mentioned, the Si/Al ratio and distribution of acid sites has also been shown to impact the rate of cresol conversion. 88,90,91 An increase in the density of the zeolite acid sites in H–Y from Si/Al = 55 to 17 to 4.5 caused an increase in the rate of cresol conversion into phenols and xylenols, showing the importance of the effect of Si/Al ratio on reactant and product selectivity. However, over longer timescales (50 minutes) the activity of H–Y with a Si/Al of 17 surpassed that of the Si/Al = 4.5 sample due to its structural stability.…”