Chromium catalysts supported on mesoporous silica for ethylene tetramerization: Effect of the porous structure of the supports

Supported chromium catalysts were prepared by loading Cr(acac)(3) and N-isopropyl bis(diphenylphosphino) amine (PNP) onto methylaluminoxane-modified MCM-41 and SBA-15. The structure of supported catalysts was characterized and the influence of the pore structure of supports on the reactivity for ethylene tetramerization was investigated. The results revealed that the chromium was immobilized on the mesoporous silica in different supported patterns, which was affected by the pore size of the supports and affected catalyst performance. The highest selectivity toward 1-octene was provided by the SBA-15-supported Cr(acac)(3)/PNP catalyst, and this value was higher than that of the homogeneous analogs. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.