Spectroscopic and catalytic evidence for the incorporation of gallium in the AEL framework

⁷¹Ga MAS n.m.r. analysis and the catalytic behavior during the transformation of 1-butene and n-butane strongly suggest the incorporation of Ga into the AlPO₄-11 (AEL) framework during the synthesis of GaAPSO-11. A unique clear signal at around +120 ppm is proposed to be associated with the presence of tetrahedral Ga in the AEL framework of the unmodified GaAPSO-11. Migration of structural Ga atoms to the silicon domain of the AEL framework seems to occur as a result of a mild hydrothermal treatment, giving rise to an additional signal at +156 ppm, previously associated with tetrahedral gallium in gallosilicates with the MFI topology. The fact that GaAPO-11 and GaAPSO-11 behaved in a way similar to their counterparts AlPO₄-11 and SAPO-11 during the skeletal isomerization of n-butenes reinforces the idea of an isomorphous substitution of Al(III) by Ga(III) in the AEL framework. The transformation of n-butane was shown to be a valuable test for detecting the presence of small amounts of hydro-dehydrogenating extraframework gallium species (EFGS) in Ga-supported SAPO-11 (Ga/SAPO-11). The fact that the sample of GaAPSO-11 was completely inactive for this transformation leads us to believe that the incorporation of gallium into the tetrahedral positions of the AEL framework was almost complete.