Lewis acid sites in zeolites

Elanany, M., Koyama, M., Kubo, M. el al. (2005) Periodic density functional investigation of Lewis acid sites in zeolites Relative strength order as revealed from NH3 adsorption, Appl. Surf. Sci., 246, 96. 

FIGURE 13.2 Example of Brpnsted and Lewis acid sites in zeolites. (From Humphries, A., Harris, D. H., and O Connor, R, Stud. Surf. Sci. Catal., 76, 41-82, 1993.)... 

FIGURE 7.17 Scheme for the generation of Bronsted and Lewis acid sites in zeolites. 

Lunsford [3b] and Hoffman and Nelson [23] first reported the ESR spectra for adsorbed NO molecules. Then, Kasai [4b] revealed that ESR spectra of NO probe molecules are very sensitive to the interaction with metal ions and Lewis acid sites in zeolites. The earlier ESR studies of the NO/zeolite system have been summarized in several review papers [3a, 4a, 8]. A number of ESR studies have been also carried out for NO adsorbed on metal oxides such as MgO and ZnO as reviewed by Che and Giamello [5]. Modern ESR techniques such as pulsed ESR [25-27], ENDOR (Electron Nuclear Double Resonance) [26], and multi-frequency (X-, Q-, and W-band) ESR [28] are especially useful for an unambiguous identification of the ESR magnetic parameters (g, hyperfine A, and quadrupole tensors, etc.) and, consequently, for a detailed characterization of structural changes and motional dynamics involved. Some recent advancements in ESR studies on NO adsorbed on zeolites are presented in this section. 

Fig. 4 Structures of Lewis and Bronsted acid sites in zeolites.

Pyridine sorption studies have shown the presence of both Bronsted and Lewis acid sites in USY zeolites, although to a lesser extent than in the corresponding HY zeolite (51,53). Acidity is maintained even after strong dehydroxylation of USY-B at 820°C. Rehydration of the calcined material did not regenerate significantly Bronsted acid sites, due to irreversible changes in the zeolite framework (51). 

Benzene was also oxidized by O2 to dehydroxybenzenes and/or polyphenylene hydrocarbons on high silica zeolites [127]. Fe3+ impurities and Lewis-acid sites in the catalyst participate in the reaction through cation-radical formation from benzene. 

Infrared spectral studies of pyridine adsorbed on alkali metal ion-exchanged faujasites have demonstrated the absence of Brpnsted acidity, as reported by Eberly (151), Ignat eva et al. (208), and Ward (156, 209-211). Pyridine is adsorbed weakly by coordination to the alkali metal ions (151, 156). Addition of small amounts of water does not result in formation of Br0nsted acid sites, indicating that the coordinate bound pyridine is not associated with Lewis acid sites in the zeolite framework (210). 

The activation of carbonyl compounds by Lewis acid sites in the tin species has been proposed to play an important role in the oxidation reaction (Figure 5.11). The pore size of beta zeolite ( 6.5 A x 7.5 A) may pose some restrictions on the substrate size. For much bulkier substrates, a new tin-MCM-41 (pore size around 20 A) catalyst has been developed by the same research group [64]. 

Reaction mechanism It is generally admitted that, over zeolites, acetylation of arenes with AA is catalysed by protonic acid sites. Comparison of the activity of a series of dealuminated HBEA samples allows one to exclude any direct participation of Lewis acid sites in 2-MN acetylation with AA. Indeed, two HBEA samples with similar protonic acidities but with very different concentrations of Lewis acid sites (170 and 16 pmol g ) have practically the same acylating activity.1271 The role of Brpnsted sites is also clearly expressed in Spagnol et a/.131... 

Zeolites are not typically used in Lewis acid type catalysis due to the absence of Lewis acid centers in zeolites. This is due to the coordination of the Al-site to four lattice-oxygens in a perfect zeolite framework. It has, however, been shown for zeolite Beta that the aluminum atom can reversibly move between a framework Brpnsted acid site and a framework-grafted Lewis-acid site.70 Accordingly, Creyghton et al. showed that zeolite Beta is active in the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction (MPV) of ketones (scheme 4).71 In this reaction a hydrogen hydride transfer reaction between an alcohol and a ketone takes place. 

For ferromagnetic cobalt particles in zeolite X, spin-echo ferromagnetic resonance has been used to obtain unique structural information (S6). In addition, study of the catalytic signature of metal/zeolite catalysts has been used by the groups of Jacobs (87), Lunsford (88), and Sachtler (47,73,89). Brpnsted acid protons are identified by their O—H vibration (90,91) in FTIR or indirectly, by using guest molecules such as pyridine or trimethylphosphine (92,93). An ingenious method to characterize acid sites in zeolites was introduced by Kazansky et al., who showed by diffuse reflection IR spectroscopy that physisorbed H2 clearly discerns different types of acid sites (94). Also, the weak adsorption of CO on Brpnsted and Lewis acid sites has been used for their identification by FTIR (95). The characterization of the acid sites was achieved also by proton NMR (96). 

Br0nsted acidity of zeolite protons is essential for catalytic reactions such as isomerization and cracking and has been studied extensively 15,264). Several characterization methods for acid sites in zeolites have been developed this subject has been covered in recent reviews (265,266). Pyridine and other basic molecules are often used in IR work as probe molecules for Brpnsted and Lewis acid sites (267). Trimethylphosphine has also been used as a probe for the determination of zeolite acidity by IR or NMR (96,268). 

Infrared spectroscopy has been used for many years to probe acid sites in zeolites. Typically, strong bases such as ammonia or pyridine are adsorbed, and the relative or absolute intensities of bands due to Lewis acid adducts or protonated Bronsted acid adducts are measured. The basicity of ammonia or pyridine is however much stronger than that of most hydrocarbon reactants in zeolite catalysed reactions. Such probe molecules therefore detect all of the acid sites in a zeolite, including those weaker acid sites which do not participate in the catalytic reaction. Interest has recently grown in using much more weakly basic probe molecules which will be more sensitive to variations in acid strength. It is also important in studying smaller pore zeolites to use probe molecules which can easily access all of the available pore volume. 

In summary, physisorbed nitrogen appears to offer several advantages as an infrared probe of acid sites in zeolites. It clearly distinguishes between Bronsted and Lewis acid sites without interference from gas phase species, it is small enough to probe sites in smaller pore zeolites, and its interaction with the zeolite is sufficiently weak and reversible to have negligible influence on the zeolite chemistry. It is not yet clear whether the method can probe variations in Bronsted acid strength. 

Variable temperature MAS NMR was used to characterize the structure and dynamics of hydrogen bonded adsorption complexes between various adsorbates and the Brpnsted acid site in H ZSM-5 the Brpnsted proton chemical shift of the active site was found to be extremely sensitive to the amount of type of adsorbate (acetylene, ethylene, CO and benzene) introduced (105). Zscherpel and coworkers performed maS NMR spectroscopic measurements in order to investigate the interaction between Lewis acid sites in H ZSM-5 and adsorbed CO. A new measure for the "overall" Lewis acidity of zeolites was derived from the C MAS NMR spectroscopic data. In addition, the chemical shift of CO adsorbed... 

The presence of Lewis and Broensted acid sites in zeolites and their ratio influences the mechanism and product distribution for the catalytic redox reactions. In our previous works [7, 9, 10], we have shown that Lewis acid sites... 

Deka, R.Ch., Roy, R.K. and Hirao, K. (2004) Local reactivity descriptors to predict the strength of Lewis acid sites in alkali cation-exchanged zeolites. Chem. Phys. Lett., 389, 186-190. 

The product selectivity of these different reactions is in general both Lewis acidity and Lewis basicity dependent. In agreement with the proposal recently made by Kazansky we suggest that the Lewis basic sites or Lewis acid sites of zeolites should be considered as acid-base pairs, in which both the framework basic oxygen and the neighbouring cation are important (see schemes 1.2,3 and figure 3). 

Chap. 1 of the present series (see also Fig. 11). Similarly, the amounts of Bronsted and Lewis centers are often measured via pyridine adsorption, and the strength of such acid sites in zeolites is frequently determined by temperature-programmed desorption of previously adsorbed pyridine (see, e.g., [38]). 

---