Hydrothermal synthesis of MCM-49 zeolite with cyclohexylamine template

Hexamethyleneimine (HMI) is used as the structure-directing agent (SDA) in the conventional synthesis method of MCM-49 zeolite. Cyclohexanine (CA) is less toxic and cheaper than HMI. Hence, in this paper, MCM-49 zeolite was successfully synthesized by using CA as a sole SDA with the aid of seeds. Both the seed and template CA are indispensable for the synthesis of MCM-49 zeolite. The optimum synthesis conditions were obtained. The range of the SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of the initial gel was broadened to 70. The synthesis of MCM-49 followed the liquid-phase crystallization mechanism. The MCM-49 zeolites synthesized by using CA and conventional template hexamethyleneimine (HMI) exhibit similar intrinsic properties, such as morphology, acidity, BET surface area, SiO2/Al2O3, and so on. The MCM-49(CA) exhibite good catalytic activity and product distribution in alkylation of benzene with methanol.