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1452537 
Journal Article 
Side-chain alkylation of toluene with methanol to styrene over cesium ion-exchanged zeolite X modified with metal borates 
Tope, BB; Alabi, WO; Aitani, AM; Hattori, H; Al-Khattaf, SS 
2012 
1 
Applied Catalysis A: General
ISSN: 0926-860X
EISSN: 1873-3875 
443 
214-220 
English 
WOS:000309644400026 
Cesium ion-exchanged zeolite X (Cs-X) was modified with
metal borates to prepare efficient catalysts for side-chain alkylation of toluene with methanol
to styrene. The catalytic behavior of Cs-X was improved by the modification with metal borates
such as zirconium borate, zinc borate, copper borate and lanthanum borate. Modification was
performed by mechanical mixing of Cs-X and a metal borate in dry state followed by calcination.
Significant enhancement of activity was observed for modification with zirconium borate and zinc
borate. The selectivity to styrene was increased by modification with all metal borates.
Modification with metal component or boron alone was not so effective as that with metal borate.
The highest activity was obtained with the Cs-X modified with 10 wt% zirconium borate and
calcined at 773 K. The high activity of metal borate-modified Cs-X is due to the ability to
selectively form formaldehyde from methanol, which is suggested by appearance of clear IR peak at
1690 cm(-1) assigned to unidentate formate species on adsorption of methanol. The basic sites and
acidic sites of Cs-X were slightly weakened by modification with metal borates. It was revealed
that mechanical mixing of Cs-X and metal borates followed by calcination is a good method to
prepare Cs-X modified with both metal components and boron. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights
reserved. 
Styrene; Toluene; Methanol; Side-chain alkylation; Metal borate-modified cesium; ion-exchanged zeolite 
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• Methanol (Non-Cancer)
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