Hydrated zirconia was synthesized by an organo-inorganic route employing surfactant and was sulfated using aqueous ammonium persulfate, followed by drying at 110 degreesC. The sample thus obtained was calcined at 600 degreesC to obtain sulfated zirconia and was characterized by several physicochemical methods. Crystallite sizes of sulfated zirconia were calculated from X-ray line broadening using the Debye-Scherer equation and were found to be in the range of 25 nm. When pretreated in air, the catalyst was found to exhibit butane isomerization activity at a temperature as low as 35 degreesC under atmospheric pressure. It showed conversion as high as 37% at 100 degreesC under normal pressure when pretreated in air, whereas nitrogen-pretreated catalyst showed zero activity under similar conditions. NH3 and CO2 temperature-programmed desorption studies on air- and helium-pretreated samples indicated that the catalyst surface changes appreciably during air pretreatment. Results on butane isomerization in conjunction with TPD studies suggest that zirconium-oxy sites play an important role in butane activation during the reaction. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.