Offretite zeolite single crystals crystallized using amphiphile-templating approach

International audience; Offretite zeolite synthesis in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) is reported for the first time. The offretite crystals exhibited novel hexagonal prismatic shape with high crystallinity after only 72 h of hydrothermal treatment at 180 o C which is considerably faster than the already known synthesis procedure used for the preparation of offretite. The study showed that CTABr has dual-functions during crystallization of offretite, viz. as structure-directing agent and as mesoporogen. The resulting offretite crystals (Si/Al ratio = 4.1) possess more acid sites than the conventional offretite thanks to its high 2 crystallinity and hierarchical structure. The synthesized zeolite is also more reactive than its conventional counterpart in the acylation of 2-methylfuran for biofuel production under nonmicrowave instant heating condition, giving 83.5% conversion with 100% selectivity to the desired product 2-acetyl-5-methylfuran. Hence, this amphiphile synthesis approach offers another cost-effective and alternative route for crystallizing zeolite materials that require expensive organic templates.