Isomerization of normal hexane catalyzed by room temperature ionic liquids

Room temperature acidic ionic liquids were synthesized with AlCl3 to Et3NHCl; their acidity and catalytic performance in normal hexane isomerization were investigated. The effects of reaction time, reaction temperature and catalyst-to-oil volume ratio on n-hexane isomerization were examined. The results show that the acidity of ionic liquids increases with the mole ratio of AlCl3 to Et3NHCl for the synthesis. The ionic liquid 2AlCl3/Et3NHCl exhibits excellent catalytic performance in the isomerization of n-hexane. The reaction conditions have significant influence on the conversion of nhexane and the yields of isoparaffins and total liquid components; however, the selectivity of isoparaffins varies slightly with any change in the reaction conditions. The optimal reaction conditions are 50℃, reaction time of 45min and catalyst-to-oil volume ratio of 1∶1.