Quasi-elastic Neutron Scattering Studies of Diffusion in Mordenite Catalysts for the Carbonylation of Dimethylether

This proposal follows recent QENS measurements on mordenite zeolite catalysts used to convert dimethylether to methylacetate. The initial measurements have shown that propane as a simulant of both reactant and product undergoes motion in the zeolite on the QENS time scale, and that pyridine pretreatment of the catalyst modifies the propane motion. Our objectives now are to examine further the motion of the adsorbed pyridine, and to look at the effects of coke formation in used catalysts on propane diffusion, to better understand the factors influencing catalyst deactivation in the working process. The project is a Royal Society funded collaboration between the University of Aberdeen and Tianjin University, China.