One-pot synthesis of ordered mesoporous zirconium oxophosphate with high thermostability and acidic properties

Abstract

A series of mesoporous zirconium oxophosphate (M-ZrPO) with different P/Zr molar ratios (0–1.25) has been prepared via a facile one-pot evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) strategy. After removing the structure-directing agents, the M-ZrPO with large specific surface area (160 m² g⁻¹), big pore volume (0.26 cm³ g⁻¹) and narrow pore size distribution (5.64 nm) has been obtained. Small-angle X-ray diffraction (SXRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that these materials had ordered mesoporous structure. With the increase of P/Zr, the textural properties of M-ZrPO could be improved. Moreover, the ordered mesostructure could be maintained even when treated at 800 °C, indicating the M-ZrPO had attractive thermal stability. NH₃-TPD and pyridine-IR analyses showed the presence of abundant Brönsted and Lewis acid sites in the material. The M-ZrPO has been used successfully as solid acid catalyst and showed excellent performance in the ketalization reaction.