Phosphate and nitrate
were loaded on silica BEA (P/HSi@BEA and
N/HSi@BEA), which is fibrously protonated by the impregnation method
for n-hexane and cyclohexane isomerization. The characterization
analysis specified the removal of tetrahedral aluminum atoms in the
framework, which was triggered by the existence of phosphate and nitrate
groups in the catalyst. The exchanged role of Si(OH)Al to P–OH
as active acidic sites in the P/HSi@BEA catalyst reduced its acidic
strength, which was confirmed by the FTIR results. Lewis acidic sites
of P/HSi@BEA performance are a significant part in the generation
of high protonic acid sites, as proven by the in situ ESR study. However,
FTIR evacuation and 27Al NMR revealed that the reduction
in the amount of extraframework Al (EFAl) is due to its interaction
with the nitrate group on the outside of the catalyst surface. The
N/HSi@BEA catalyst exhibited high acidic strength because of the existence
of more Si(OH)Al, which was initiated during the nitrate-incorporation
process. Of significance is that the catalytic performance of n-hexane isomerization in the presence of hydrogen reached
50.3% product isomer yield at 250 °C, which might be ascribed
to the presence of P–OH active sites that are responsible for
accepting electrons, forming active protonic acid sites. NO3–EFAl interaction induced the formation of Brønsted acid
sites, and higher mesopore volume favors the production of cyclohexane
isomers up to 48.4% at 250 °C. This fundamental study exhibits
that significant interactions given by such phosphate and nitrate
groups with the unique silica fibrous BEA support could enhance isomerization,
which contributes to the high quality of fuel.