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Visualizing pore architecture and molecular transport boundaries in catalyst bodies with fluorescent nanoprobes

Nature Chemistry volume 11, pages 23–31 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

The performances of porous materials are closely related to the accessibility and interconnectivity of their porous domains. Visualizing pore architecture and its role on functionality—for example, mass transport—has been a challenge so far, and traditional bulk and often non-visual pore measurements have to suffice in most cases. Here, we present an integrated, facile fluorescence microscopy approach to visualize the pore accessibility and interconnectivity of industrial-grade catalyst bodies, and link it unequivocally with their catalytic performance. Fluorescent nanoprobes of various sizes were imaged and correlated with the molecular transport of fluorescent molecules formed during a separate catalytic reaction. A direct visual relationship between the pore architecture—which depends on the pore sizes and interconnectivity of the material selected—and molecular transport was established. This approach can be applied to other porous materials, and the insight gained may prove useful in the design of more efficient heterogeneous catalysts.

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Fig. 1: Visualizing accessibility and deactivation in zeolite-based catalyst bodies.
Fig. 2: Associating molecule size, type and location with accessibility.
Fig. 3: Visualizing molecular transport phenomena at different stages of a MTH reaction.
Fig. 4: Visualizing the effect of changing accessibility on catalyst performance.

Data availability

All data supporting the findings of this study are available within the Article and its Supplementary Information, and/or from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank M. Rivera Torrente (Utrecht University, UU), I. Beurroies and M. V. Coulet (Aix-Marseille University) for Hg porosimetry data analysis, as well as R. Dalebout (UU) for Ar physisorption measurements. M. de Winter (UU) is thanked for his contribution to FIB–SEM measurements. F. Meirer (UU) and M. Vesely (UU) are also thanked for valuable discussions. This work was funded by a Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) Veni grant, awarded to G.T.W. (no. 722.015.003), a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement (no. 704544) (to A.D.C.) and a NWO Gravitation program (Netherlands Center for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion, MCEC; to B.M.W.).

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  1. Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Gareth T. Whiting, Nikolaos Nikolopoulos, Ioannis Nikolopoulos, Abhishek Dutta Chowdhury & Bert M. Weckhuysen

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  1. Gareth T. Whiting
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  2. Nikolaos Nikolopoulos
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Contributions

G.T.W., N.N., I.N. and A.D.C. contributed to the preparation, characterization and testing of samples. G.T.W. and B.M.W. designed and directed the project. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gareth T. Whiting or Bert M. Weckhuysen.

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Whiting, G.T., Nikolopoulos, N., Nikolopoulos, I. et al. Visualizing pore architecture and molecular transport boundaries in catalyst bodies with fluorescent nanoprobes. Nature Chem 11, 23–31 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-018-0163-z

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