Direct observation of cyclic carbenium ions and their role in the catalytic cycle of the methanol-to-olefin reaction over chabazite zeolites

Abstract

Carbenium ions in zeolites: Two important carbenium ions have been observed for the first time under working conditions of the methanol-to-olefins (MTO) reaction over chabazite zeolites using (13) C NMR spectroscopy. Their crucial roles in the MTO reaction cycles have been demonstrated by combining experiments and theoretical calculations.

Keywords: carbenium ions; density functional calculations; methanol; olefins; zeolites.