The effect of T-atom ratio and TPAOH concentration on the pore structure and titanium position in MFI-Type titanosilicate during dissolution-recrystallization process

Abstract In this work, titanosilicate MFI (TS-1) crystals with different Si/Ti ratio were treated with tetrapropylamonium hydroxide (TPAOH) solution of different concentrations. The results showed that the properties – crystal structure, titanium position, secondary pore structure and volume – of the treated samples strongly depend on the Si/Ti ratio of the parent TS-1 sample and the TPAOH concentration. For instance, high TPAOH concentration is necessary to induce titanium re-insertion into framework position and to create inter-connected open meso/macropore in TS-1 with low Si/Ti ratio. On the contrary, TPAOH treatment even at high concentration was found to be ineffective in the post-synthesis treatment of low titanium containing TS-1 samples and result in a phase change from orthorhombic to monoclinic. The post-treated high titanium containing and inter-connected secondary pore TS-1 samples exhibited higher activity for cyclohexene epoxidation than the parent TS-1 sample with similar Si/Ti. This technique provides a controlled way of mesopore creation in TS-1 materials, which may be extended to other titanium base microporous materials.