Deactivation of Cu‐Exchanged Automotive‐Emission NH3‐SCR Catalysts Elucidated with Nanoscale Resolution Using Scanning Transmission X‐ray Microscopy

To gain insight into the underlying mechanisms of catalyst durability for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO_x with an ammonia reductant, we employed scanning transmission X‐ray microscopy (STXM) to study Cu‐exchanged zeolites with the CHA and MFI framework structures before and after simulated 135 000‐mile aging. X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES) measurements were performed at the Al K‐ and Cu L‐edges. The local environment of framework Al, the oxidation state of Cu, and geometric changes were analyzed, showing a multi‐factor‐induced catalytic deactivation. In Cu‐exchanged MFI, a transformation of Cu^II to Cu^I and Cu_xO_y was observed. We also found a spatial correlation between extra‐framework Al and deactivated Cu species near the surface of the zeolite as well as a weak positive correlation between the amount of Cu^I and tri‐coordinated Al. By inspecting both Al and Cu in fresh and aged Cu‐exchanged zeolites, we conclude that the importance of the preservation of isolated Cu^II sites trumps that of Brønsted acid sites for NH₃‐SCR activity.