A fractional factorial design 2(5-1) was used to evaluate the effect of temperature, time, and the ratios TEAOH/SiO2, Si/Al, and H2O/SiO2 in crystallization of Al-rich zeolite Beta. The main effect of TEAOH/SiO2 ratio was not significant. However, the Al-rich BEA structure was formed when partially substituting the tetraethylammonium cations by Na+. The activity and selectivity to bi-branched isomers in isomerization of n-hexane is directly proportional to the amount to Al atoms in the crystal lattice of BEA structure. TPD-NH3 analyses showed that the improvement of such properties may be a result of the increased amount of Bronsted acid sites on the zeolite surface.}CANES analyses with bimetallic Pt/Ni catalysts demonstrated that, at reduction temperatures higher than 673 K, the reduction degree of Ni does not influence the activity of isomerization of n-hexane. Instead, the metal particles become more agglomerated and the activity decreases considerably. It is supposed that the rate limiting step of isomerization is the protonation of n-hexane on the Bronsted acid sites of zeolites. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.