Rational design of ZSM-5 zeolite containing a high concentration of single Fe sites capable of catalyzing the partial oxidation of methane with high turnover frequency

Iron-containing zeolites possess active sites capable of catalyzing the low-temperature partial oxidation of methane using hydrogen peroxide as an environmentally benign oxidant. However, only a trace number of active sites have been found in zeolites so far. The high turnover frequency was limited to low loading samples, resulting in an upper limit of ∼50 mmol gcat−1 h−1 yield of C1 oxygenates. In this study, we synthesized a ZSM-5 catalyst containing a high concentration of single Fe sites with a high turnover frequency, and achieved a conversion of methane to C1 oxygenates of ∼200 mmol gcat−1 h−1 yield. It was important to use ZSM-5 as a carrier, which can be synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of aluminosilicate gel containing only tetra-propyl ammonium cations as the structure-directing agent (SDA). This ZSM-5 carrier has a large fraction of local environments possessing the nearest framework AlO4 tetrahedra required for the fixation of Fe cations in the mononuclear state while suppressing the co-generation of oligomeric Fe sites, making it possible to design a reaction field for the highly efficient partial oxidation of methane. The findings in the present study clearly showed that the fraction of single Fe cations and the Al distribution in the zeolite matrix are powerful activity descriptors for this class of materials. Furthermore, Al-distribution modification based on previously-established protocols, i.e., rational choice of an SDA used in the zeolite synthesis, is a meaningful way to tune not only the fabrication efficiency of single Fe cations but also the catalytic performance of Fe/ZSM-5 catalysts.