Abstract

Zeolites are one of the most widely-used catalyst in the petrochemical industry, although, their microporous nature restricts their applications in other fields. The presence of a pure microporous media often translates to diffusion limitations of the reactants and products, which is a major obstacle in several catalytic reactions. This drawback can be solved by the formation of mesoporous. Nowadays, the most common method for the generation of mesoporous is the ultra-stabilization or steam dealumination. However, this post-synthesis treatment regularly lowers the surface acidity of the catalyst. Desilication, on the other hand, is considered an efficient and simple method to tailor zeolites that does not affect their acid properties. Nevertheless, this top-down treatment is not applicable to low silicon content zeolites (high Si/Al), because a high aluminum content impedes the Si extraction leading to a lower mesoporous generation. An alternative, is the use of these two treatment subsequently. Here, we report the study of sequential dealumination-desilication treatments and the assessment of the effect of the order of the ultra-stabilization-alkaline treatment in the textural and acidic properties of Y zeolites.