Synthesis and characterization of Ce doped MFI zeolite

Highlights: ► Cerium was incorporated into the tetrahedral position of MFI zeolite structure. ► Unit cell volume increases with an increase of Ce content in the framework of MFI. ► A band at 310 nm in the UV–vis spectra indicates Ce incorporation in MFI structure. ► The mass loss (%) in the region 373–423 K decreases with increase of Ce in MFI. - Abstract: Ce doped MFI (mobil five) zeolites with different Si to (Ce + Al) and different Ce to Al ratios were synthesized by a hydrothermal synthesis method. All the samples were characterized by different techniques such as X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that almost pure MFI phase was obtained in all cases with incorporation of cerium metal into the framework. The increase in unit cell parameters observed with an increase in Ce content is indicative of incorporation of Ce into the framework structure of microporous material MFI. Corroboration of the framework incorporation of Ce into the MFI zeolite structure was also obtained from the UV–vis DRS spectra by the presence of an absorption band at 280 nm. TGA and SEM of the samples provide complementary evidence for Ce incorporation into the framework MFI structure.