Active-site coating for molecular discrimination in heterogeneous catalysis.

A coherent layer of zeolite A has been applied to a SiO2-supported Pt-Fe oxidation catalyst, using total surface charge-reversal. The zeolite has tracked the metals into the pore structure of the support, covering the active sites. The zeolite channel size is large enough to allow access of CO and O2 to the active sites, and to allow CO2 to emerge, but it excludes larger molecules. The presence of the zeolite membrane transforms the supported Pt-Fe into a highly specific catalyst, which can discriminate between CO and butane, even after the macroscopic catalyst particles are crushed.