Post-treatment of Ti-MWW zeolite with potassium fluoride for propylene epoxidation

Epoxidation of propylene to propylene oxide (PO) with hydrogen peroxide (HPPO) is an environmentally friendly and cost-efficient process in which titanosilicates are used as catalysts. Ti-MWW is a potential industrial catalyst for this process, which involves the addition of HPPO to PO. The silanol groups generated during secondary crystallization unavoidably result in ring-opening of PO and inefficient decomposition of HPPO, which diminish the PO selectivity and the lifespan of Ti-MWW. To address this issue, we conducted post-treatment modifications of the structured Bf-Ti-MWW catalyst with potassium fluoride aqueous solutions. By quenching the silanol groups with potassium fluoride and implanting electron-withdrawing fluoride groups into the Ti-MWW framework, both the catalytic activity and HPPO utilization efficiency were increased. Moreover, the ring opening reaction of PO was prohibited. In a continuous fixed-bed liquid-phase propylene epoxidation reaction, the KF-treated structured Ti-MWW catalyst displayed an exceptionally long lifespan of 2700 h, with a PO yield of 590 g·kg−1·h−1.