Coke formation is the primary cause of zeolite deactivation in industrial catalysis,yet the structural identity,spatial location and molecular routes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)within confined zeolite po...Coke formation is the primary cause of zeolite deactivation in industrial catalysis,yet the structural identity,spatial location and molecular routes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)within confined zeolite pores remain elusive.Here,by coupling matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry with multi-dimensional chemical imaging,we unveil a channel-passing growth mechanism for PAHs in ZSM-5 zeolites during methanol conversion through identifying the molecular fingerprints of larger PAHs,pinpointing and visualizing their 3D location and spatiotemporal evolution trajectory with atomic resolution and at both channel and single-crystal scales.Confined aromatic entities cross-link with each other,culminating in multicore PAH chains as the both thermodynamically favorable and kinetically trapped host-vip entanglement wrought and templated by the defined molecular-scale constrained microenvironments of zeolite.The mechanistic concept proves general across both channel-and cage-structured zeolite materials.Our multiscale deactivating model based on the full-picture coke structure-location correlations—spanning atom,molecule,channel/cage and single crystal scales—would shed new light on the intertwined chemical and physical processes in catalyst deactivation.This work not only resolves long-standing puzzles in coke formation but also provides design principles for coke-resistant zeolites.The methods and insights would rekindle interest in confinement effects and host-vip chemistry across broader chemistry fields beyond catalysis and carbon materials.展开更多
文摘Coke formation is the primary cause of zeolite deactivation in industrial catalysis,yet the structural identity,spatial location and molecular routes of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)within confined zeolite pores remain elusive.Here,by coupling matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry with multi-dimensional chemical imaging,we unveil a channel-passing growth mechanism for PAHs in ZSM-5 zeolites during methanol conversion through identifying the molecular fingerprints of larger PAHs,pinpointing and visualizing their 3D location and spatiotemporal evolution trajectory with atomic resolution and at both channel and single-crystal scales.Confined aromatic entities cross-link with each other,culminating in multicore PAH chains as the both thermodynamically favorable and kinetically trapped host-vip entanglement wrought and templated by the defined molecular-scale constrained microenvironments of zeolite.The mechanistic concept proves general across both channel-and cage-structured zeolite materials.Our multiscale deactivating model based on the full-picture coke structure-location correlations—spanning atom,molecule,channel/cage and single crystal scales—would shed new light on the intertwined chemical and physical processes in catalyst deactivation.This work not only resolves long-standing puzzles in coke formation but also provides design principles for coke-resistant zeolites.The methods and insights would rekindle interest in confinement effects and host-vip chemistry across broader chemistry fields beyond catalysis and carbon materials.
