Redox-Driven Migration of Copper Ions in the Cu-CHA Zeolite as Shown by the In†Situ PXRD/XANES Technique.

Using quasi-simultaneous in situ PXRD and XANES, the direct correlation between the oxidation state of Cu ions in the commercially relevant deNOx NH3 -SCR zeolite catalyst Cu-CHA and the Cu ion migration in the zeolitic pores was revealed during catalytic activation experiments. A comparison with recent reports further reveals the high sensitivity of the redox-active centers concerning heating rates, temperature, and gas environment during catalytic activation. Previously, Cu+ was confirmed present only in the 6R. Results verify a novel 8R monovalent Cu site, an eventually large Cu+ presence upon heating to high temperatures in oxidative conditions, and demonstrate the unique potential in combining in situ PXRD and XANES techniques, with which both oxidation state and structural location of the redox-active centers in the zeolite framework could be tracked.

Location of Cu(2+) in CHA zeolite investigated by X-ray diffraction using the Rietveld/maximum entropy method.

Accurate structural models of reaction centres in zeolite catalysts are a prerequisite for mechanistic studies and further improvements to the catalytic performance. The Rietveld/maximum entropy method is applied to synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction data on fully dehydrated CHA-type zeolites with and without loading of catalytically active Cu(2+) for the selective catalytic reduction of NO x with NH3. The method identifies the known Cu(2+) sites in the six-membered ring and a not previously observed site in the eight-membered ring. The sum of the refined Cu occupancies for these two sites matches the chemical analysis and thus all the Cu is accounted for. It is furthermore shown that approximately 80% of the Cu(2+) is located in the new 8-ring site for an industrially relevant CHA zeolite with Si/Al = 15.5 and Cu/Al = 0.45. Density functional theory calculations are used to corroborate the positions and identity of the two Cu sites, leading to the most complete structural description of dehydrated silicoaluminate CHA loaded with catalytically active Cu(2+) cations.