Theoretical design for zeolite synthesis

Science China Chemistry - Zeolites, an important class of microporous crystals, have been widely utilized in the fields of catalysis, ion-exchange, separation, and sorption for a long time. In...     

Structure-direction in zeolite synthesis

The concepts of structure-direction in the synthesis of clathrasils and high-silica molecular sieves are reviewed. The effects of size, geometry, and chemical nature of the organic structure-directing agent on the crystalline structures that are formed are discussed beginning with clathrasils (0-dimensional pore systems) and ending with 12-ring zeolites with 3-dimensional pore systems. Emphasis is focused on the energetic interactions between the organic guest and the inorganic framework. The energetic stability of porous frameworks is compared to the stability of dense pure-silica phases and the effects of trivalent (Al, B) and divalent (Zn) tetrahedral heteroatoms on the structure of zeolites formed is reviewed. The application of structure-directing concepts are described using the syntheses of ZSM-18 and SSZ-26 as examples, and the control over long-range order in zeolites by structure-directing effects is illustrated by the purposeful variation of the stacking probability of SSZ-33-CIT-1 and FAU-EMT intergrowths.     

In situ determination of the adsorption characteristics of a zeolite membrane

A methodology based on adsorption-branch porosimetry is described for in situ measurement of the adsorption of condensable gases within the pore structure of inorganic membranes. The method is applied to the study of n-hexane and p-xylene adsorption in a high-silica, MFI zeolite membrane. The results, interpreted in terms of a simple model for competitive adsorption effects on the permeance of a non-adsorbing gas, yield Langmuir adsorption constants and Henry’s law constants for n-hexane and p-xylene that are in excellent agreement with measurements on bulk materials. The method is proposed for the fundamental study of fouling characteristics of inorganic membranes, especially in cases where a true bulk surrogate is not available.     

Open micro-fluidic system for atomic force microscopy-guided in situ electrochemical probing of a single cell

Ultra-sharp nano-probes and customized atomic force microscopy (AFM) have previously been developed in our laboratory for in situ sub-cellular probing of electrochemical phenomena in living plant cells during their photosynthesis. However, this AFM-based electrochemical probing still has numerous engineering challenges such as immobilization of the live cells, compatibility of the immobilization procedure with AFM manipulation of the probe, maintenance of biological activity of the cells for an extended time while performing the measurements, and minimization of electrochemical noise. Thus, we have developed an open micro-fluidic channel system (OMFC) in which individual cells can be immobilized in micro-traps by capillary flow. This system affords easy AFM access and allows for maintenance of the cells in a well-defined chemical environment, which sustains their biological activity. The use of micro-channels for making the electrochemical measurements significantly reduces parasitic electrical capacitances and allows for current detection in the sub-pico-ampere range at high signal bandwidths. The OMFC was further studied using simulation packages for optimal design conditions. This system was successfully used to measure light-dependent oxidation currents of a few pico-amperes from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.     

Interlayer stacking disorder in zeolite beta family: a Raman spectroscopic study

Raman spectroscopy has been applied to series of BEA- and BEC-type samples differing from each other in size, Si/Al ratio and polymorph percentage in order to analyse the effect of interlayer stacking arrangements on the vibrational modes of zeolite beta. The Raman peaks observed in the spectral range 250-550 cm-1 were assigned to the rings building the basic (001)-layer and to those linking the adjacent layers in zeolite beta. It is shown that the intensity ratio rho between the Raman signals at 314 and 343 cm-1 is most sensitive to the degree of periodicity faults along the c direction. A larger value of rho indicates a larger size of polymorph stacking sequence, i.e. improvement of the stacking faultlessness. The interlayer stacking disorder and the degree of connectivity point defects are higher in nanosized zeolite beta than in micron-sized crystals. The Al content influences the concentration of defected SiOH groups, but is less important for the interlayer stacking sequences in colloidal zeolite beta.     

High yield method for nanocrystalline zeolite synthesis

Nanocrystalline zeolites, such as silicalite-1 and zeolite Y, were synthesized in high yield by periodically removing nanocrystals from the synthesis solution and recycling the unused reagents, including the template and T-atom sources.     

A hierarchically zeolite Y for the N-heterocyclic compounds synthesis

High activity and selectivity of the hierarchical H-Ymmm zeolite in the synthesis of practically important pyridines (by interaction of C₂–C₄ alcohols with formaldehyde and ammonia, cyclocondensation of acetaldehyde and propanal with ammonia), dialkyl quinolines (by reaction of aniline with aldehydes) and alkyl dihydroquinolines (by reaction of aniline with ketones- acetone, acetophenone) were revealed in the research.The advantages of the micro-meso-macroporous H-Ymmm zeolite over the microporous H-Y zeolite in the synthesis of pyridines and quinolines were demonstrated. In the products formed by the reaction of ethanol with formaldehyde and ammonia, picolines (up to 63%) and lutidine are predominant in H-Ymmm, Pb-H-Ymmm and Fe-H-Ymmm zeolites. The interaction of n-propanol (n-butanol) with formaldehyde and ammonia in the presence of H-Ymmm zeolite with high selectivity produced 3,5-lutidine (up to 90%) or 3,5-diethylpyridine (85%). H-Ymmm zeolite makes it possible to prepare 2-methyl-5-ethylpyridine with 87% selectivity (reaction of acetaldehyde with ammonia) and 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyridine with 58% selectivity (reaction of propanal with ammonia).The synthesis of dialkylquinolines and dialkyltetrahydroquinolines with a total selectivity of 65–73% by the interaction of aniline with C₃–C₅ aldehydes has been carried out. The dihydroquinoline derivatives with the selectivity of up to 70% have been synthesized by the reaction of aniline with ketones (acetone, acetophenone).     

On-line laser Raman spectroscopic probing of droplets engineered in microfluidic devices

Sub-nanolitre droplets engineered in microfluidic devices constitute ideal microreactors to investigate the kinetics of chemical reactions on the millisecond time scale. Up to date, fluorescence detection has been extensively used in chemistry and biology to probe reactants and resultant products within such nanodroplets. However, although fluorescence is a very sensitive technique, it lacks intrinsic specificity as frequently fluorescent labels need to be attached to the species of interest. This weakness can be overcome by using vibrational spectroscopy analysis. As an illustrative example, we use confocal Raman microspectroscopy in order to probe the concentration profiles of two interdiffusing solutes within nanolitre droplets transported through a straight microchannel. We establish the feasibility of the experimental method and discuss various aspects related to the space-time resolution and the quantitativeness of the Raman measurements. Finally, we demonstrate that the droplet internal molecular mixing is strongly affected by the droplet internal flow.     

Design and applications of a home-built in situ FT-Raman spectroscopic cell

In the field of heterogeneous catalysis, in situ spectroscopy is one of the topics with growing interest. The characterization of a catalyst under working conditions is essential to identify the catalytic active site and to study the relation between the surface structure of a catalyst and its catalytic performance. For the first time, the design of an in situ spectroscopic cell for FT-Raman is presented and its performance is demonstrated by monitoring the thermal conversion of as synthesized mesoporous titanium and by characterizing the molecular surface structure of the vanadium oxides grafted on MCM-48 after exposure to a probe molecule. The results in both cases indicate that the in situ FT-Raman cell is a promising technique for characterizing the molecular surface structure of catalyst materials.     

Regioselective synthesis of bifunctional macrolides for probing ribosomal binding

[structure: see text] Bifunctional macrolides projecting an anchor group to the right or left spatial position of the lactone ring were synthesized. The regioselectivity of the key [3 + 2] cycloaddition process was controlled by the remote cladinose group attached to the C-3 position. These conformationally constrained molecules were employed as molecular probes to study the ribosomal binding sites of bifunctional macrolide antibiotics.     

Solvent-free synthesis of zeolite catalysts

The most used method for preparation of zeolites is hydrothermal synthesis from silicate or aluminosilicate gels at temperatures in the range of 60–200°C.Excess water used in the industrial process results in several issues,including high autogeneous pressure,low efficiency,pollution,etc.To solve these problems,several strategies have been developed.This review describes the solvent-free synthesis of zeolites.The combination of solvent-free synthesis and organotemplate-free synthesis can open the pathway to a highly sustainable zeolite synthesis protocol in industry.     

In situ evaluation of defect size distribution for supported zeolite membranes

The permporometry measurements are performed with respect to a series of zeolite membranes with different defect sizes, which can be further applied for in situ measurement of the defect size distribution in zeolite membranes. Gas permeation experiments are conducted for CO₂/N₂ gas mixture to test the separation performance of the studied zeolite membranes. By taking into account the “t-layer” on defect walls, a mathematical model and the corresponding procedure are developed so that the defect size distribution in zeolite membranes can be calculated by using the results of permporometry measurements. The defect size distribution and the maximal defect size show a good correlation with the separation performance of CO₂/N₂ gas mixture for zeolite membranes. It is demonstrated that the separation performance of zeolite membranes is mainly determined by large defects. It has been shown that the permporometry-based methodology proposed in this contribution is an effective way for the quality evaluation of zeolite membranes.     

AgY zeolite as catalyst for the effective three-component synthesis of propargylamines

The preparation of substituted propargylamines via three-component reaction between aldehydes, terminal alkynes, and secondary amines following an environmentally acceptable methodology has been developed. The process has been carried out under solvent-free conditions in the presence of AgY zeolite. The catalyst can be easily recovered and reused for at least four cycles without significant decreases in yield and selectivity.     

In situ crystallography of KHSO4: probing the kinetic pathway for the evolution of a pyrolysis reaction in the crystalline state

Variable-temperature in situ crystallography on KHSO 4 shows that the pyrolysis of KHSO 4 to K 2S 2O 7 occurs via a three-step kinetic pathway monitored by crystal-to-crystal phase transitions while providing an explanation for the high proton conductivity to be due to the disordered hydrogen-bonding pattern.     

Facile synthesis of H-type zeolite shell on a silica substrate for tandem catalysis

A new class of silica-based zeolite capsule catalyst was readily prepared employing a dual-layer method under close-to-neutral conditions. In a tandem catalysis process, the precisely controlled synthesis of dimethyl ether was realized. This new concept of H-type zeolite shell preparation and application represents a powerful approach for preparing high-performance, multifunctional catalysts.     

UV-Raman and NMR spectroscopic studies on the crystallization of zeolite A and a new synthetic route

UV-Raman and NMR spectroscopy, combined with other techniques, have been used to characterize crystallization of zeolite A. In situ UV-Raman spectroscopy shows that the starting gel for crystallization of zeolite A contains a lot of four-ring (4R) building units and the appearance of six-ring (6R) building blocks is the signal for crystal formation. (29)Si NMR spectroscopy results suggest that the starting gel is double four-ring (D4R) rich and during crystallization of zeolite A both α and β cages appear. (27)Al NMR spectroscopy results indicate the absence of Al (2Si) species in the starting gel, suggesting the absence of single 4R building units in the starting gel. Furthermore, composition analysis of both solid and liquid samples shows that the solid rather than liquid phase predominates for the crystallization of zeolite A. Therefore, it is proposed that the crystallization of zeolite A mainly occurs in the solid phase by self-assembly or rearrangement starting from the zeolite building units mainly consisting of D4R. The essential role of D4R is directly confirmed by successful conversion from a solution of D4R to zeolite A in the presence of NaCl, and the importance of solid phase is reasonably demonstrated by the successful synthesis of zeolite A from a dry aluminosilicate gel. By considering that the solid phase has a major contribution to crystallization, a novel route was designed to synthesizing zeolite A from the raw materials water glass (Na(2)SiO(3) in aqueous solution) and NaAlO(2), without additional water and NaOH; this route not only simplifies synthetic procedures, but reduces water consumption.     

In situ probing of insulin aggregation in chromatography effluents with spectroturbidimetry

Probing protein aggregation in situ is quite important for analyzing and developing chromatographic protein purification processes. A spectroturbidimetry method with a photodiode array detector is developed and tested for probing insulin aggregation in solution and determining the aggregation number, n(m). All aggregates examined are in the Rayleigh light scattering regime, where the turbidity between 400 and 350 nm is proportional to lambda(-4). Insulin at 25 degrees C in 3.5 N acetic acid is mainly monomeric (non-aggregated). At 25 degrees C and lower acetic acid concentrations, from 0.1 to 1 N, the average insulin aggregation number n(m) ranges from 2.9 to 1.6. Aggregates, with n(m) = 2-3, are found in 2.6 N acetic acid with 20 vol% acetonitrile. In 0.8 N acetic acid with 20 vol% denatured ethanol, n(m) = 1.2. At 4 degrees C, as acetic acid concentration decreases from 3.5 to 0.1 N, n(m) decreases from 2.4 to 1.8. In 2.8 N acetic acid with 20 vol% denatured ethanol at 4 degrees C, insulin exists mainly in monomer form. In situ probing of size exclusion chromatography, SEC, effluents in 3.5 N acetic acid at 4 degrees C shows n(m) = 1.6 at the fronting portion (a mixture of monomers and dimers or other oligomers) and n(m) = 1.1 (mostly monomers) at the tailing portion of the main peak. In another example, for LysPro-insulin in reversed phase chromatography at 4 degrees C, complex elution patterns and broad peaks are due to substantial aggregation. For a linear gradient of acetonitrile from 10 to 60 vol% at 4 degrees C, n(m) ranges from 2.2 to 12, in order of elution. For a linear gradient of ethanol from 30 to 50 vol% at 4 degrees C, n(m) ranges from 14 to 27, in order of elution. Analytical HPLC results at 25 degrees C imply that the aggregates are reversible.