Electron Diffraction Enables the Mapping of Coke in ZSM-5 Micropores Formed during Methanol-to-Hydrocarbons Conversion.

Unveiling the coke formation in zeolites is an essential prerequisite for tackling the deactivation of these catalysts in the transformations of hydrocarbons. Herein, we present the direct mapping of coke in the micropores of ZSM-5 catalysts used in methanol-to-hydrocarbons conversion by single-crystal electron diffraction analysis. The latter technique revealed a polycyclic aromatic structure along the straight channel, wherein the high-quality data permit refinement of its occupancy to about 40 %. These findings were exploited to analyze the evolution of micropore coke during the reaction. Herein, coke-associated signals, which correlate with the activity loss, indicate that the nucleation of coke commences in the intersections of sinusoidal and straight channels, while the formation of coke in the straight pores occurs in the late stages of deactivation. The findings uncover an attractive method for analyzing coke deposition in the micropore domain.

Metal-Organic Cubane Cage with Trimethylplatinum(IV) Vertices.

Herein we describe the synthesis and characterization of the first platinum(IV) metal-organic cage [(Me3PtIV)8(byp)12](OTf)8 (2), in which the organometallic moieties trimethylplatinum(IV) (PtMe3) occupied the corners of a cubane structure and 4,4'-bipyridine ligands used as linkers. The first-principles density functional theory calculations showed that the highest occupied molecular orbitals were localized on the PtMe3 moieties, while the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals were distributed on the organic linkers.