Syntheses of FAPO-5 molecular sieves with microwave irradiation and their characterization

FAPO-5 molecular sieves were synthesized starting from the same reactant gel at 170 °C using microwave irradiation technique and conventional hydrothermal reaction. The FAPO-5 molecular sieves were characterized by several techniques such as SEM, FTIR, UV/Vis, and ESR. Moreover, the oxidation of styrene over FAPO-5s was carried out, and compared to check the oxidation and epoxidation ability of the two FAPO-5s. FAPO-5 can be obtained easily by microwave irradiation within 15 min at 170 °C, whereas FAPO-5 synthesis is completed in 6 h by conventional electric heating, confirming the acceleration about 20 times by microwave technique. There are no appreciable differences between two FAPO-5s in surface area and coordination state of iron. The FAPO-5 synthesized by microwave irradiation shows higher epoxide selectivity in the styrene epoxidation, which may be explained by the higher hydrophobicity of the catalyst.