A research team led by Prof. Wenjie Shen identified the distribution of Co in Co-HMOR and the effect for DME carbonylation reaction. This work was published in Catalysis Science & Technology.
The work first used cobalt ion exchange into HMOR channels, and then test for the dimethyl ether carbonylation reaction, found that compared with the sample does not exchange Co2+, its activity was significantly improved. By using UV-vis spectra to analyse the location distribution of cobalt ions in the channels, two types of Co2+ were found: β-type Co2+ at site A in 8MR channels and α-type Co2+ at site E in 12MR channels, accounting for 68% and 32%, respectively. Then, further make use of DME adsorption IR and in situ DME carbonylation reaction FTIR spectrum proved that Co2+ can promote the adsorption and activation of DME and CO molecules, thereby improve its catalytic activity. Thus, it clearly shows the picture of how Co2+ partially exchanged HMOR can improve the carbonylation activity of dimethyl ether, and then has clearer understanding and knowledge of metal modification zeolites to improve the activity of catalyst.
The research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China.（Text by Zhiping Xiong）
