Chemistry of surface oxygen formed from N2O on ZSM-5 at moderate temperatures

Conversion of CH4, C2H6, C3H8, benzene and their binary mixtures over H-NaZ SM-5 catalyst in the presence of N2O was studied. It was found that under e xperimental conditions methane alkylates benzene to give toluene and xylene s. Acidity of the catalyst had no effect on the reactivity of active oxygen formed from N2O towards methane and benzene, but affected their secondary transformation. Acidic samples favored the reaction of aromatic ring methyl ation with methane whereas deep oxidation of CH4 prevailed on NaHZSM-5. Bas ed on the relative reactivities and C-13 label distribution in the products of (CH4)-C-13+C6H6+N2O feed conversion, the scheme of hydrocarbon transfor mation was proposed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.