In situ INS Studies of Decorated Zeolites for Alkyne/Alkene Separations

Efficient removal of alkyne impurities for the production of polymer-grade lower olefins remains an important and challenging target for many industries. We seek to develop highly selecitve zeolites as efficient alkyne/alkene separation materials and request 3 days on TOSCA to study the binding sites of adsorbed hydrocarbon molecules (C2H2/C2H4/C3H4/C3H6) within a top-performing zeolite, Ni@FAU. Under ambient conditions, Ni@FAU shows exceptional adsorption of alkynes and efficient separations of acetylene/ethylene and propyne/propylene mixtures with unprecedented separation selectivities of 100 and 92, respectively. This proposal will investigate the host-guest binding dynamics and define the mechanism of active Ni sites. The proposed study aims to reveal the nature of this interaction through vibrational insights.