Confinement effects in methanol to olefins catalysed by zeolites. A computational review

Abstract

[EN] Small pore zeolites, containing 8-rings as the largest, are widely employed as catalysts in the process of methanol-to-olefins (MTO). Reactants and products diffuse with constraints through 8-rings and this is one of the reaction bottlenecks related to zeolite micropore topology. Small pore zeolites and silicon-aluminophosphates (SAPOs) containing cavities, where olefins are mainly formed through the hydrocarbon pool (HP) mechanism, are frequently tested for MTO. Shape selectivity of transition states within the side-chain methylation will be reviewed as this is one of the controlling steps of the MTO process, with particular attention to the role of hexamethylbenzene (HMB) and heptamethylbenzenium cation (HeptaMB(+)), which are the most tipically detected reaction intermediates, common to the paring and side-chain routes within the HP mechanism. The relative stability of these and other species will be reviewed in terms of confinement effects in different cage-based zeolites. The role of the different alkylating agents, methanol, dimethyl ether (DME), and surface methoxy species (SMS) will also be reviewed from the computational viewpoint.