Abstract: Meso-microporous composites show great promise for catalysis because of their variously-sized porous structures. A series of composites containing uniform mesopores and MFI zeolitic channels were prepared by a template-free sol-gel method. The composite containing silicalite-1 structures was found to be much more hydrothermally stable than MCM-41. The composites with ZSM-5 structures showed higher catalytic activity and resistance to deactivation than commercial HZSM-5 in the catalytic cracking reaction of 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene. The conversion and catalytic cracking product distribution of 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene depended highly on the mesopore size of the composites. Higher conversions and small molecule cracking products were obtained using composites with smaller mesopores.

Key words: meso-microporous composite, MFI zeolite, hydrothermal stability, 1,3,5-triisopropylbenzene, catalytic cracking