Seed-induced synthesis of small-crystal TS-1 using ammonia as alkali source

Small-crystal TS-1 was synthesized via a seed-induced approach using ammonia as the alkali source and tetrapropylammonium bromide as an auxiliary structure-directing agent. The TS-1 samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption-desorption, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The use of the colloidal seed reduced the crystal size, and an appropriate amount of silicalite-1 seed assisted Ti incorporation into the TS-1 framework. This method reduces the cost of TS-1 synthesis because a significantly smaller amount of tetrapropylammonium hydroxide is used. The catalytic performance of the synthesized small-crystal TS-1 samples in cyclohexanone ammoximation was better than that of bulk TS-1 as a result of improved diffusion and a larger number of active tetrahedral Ti centers.