3D nanoscale chemical imaging of the distribution of aluminum coordination environments in zeolites with soft X-ray microscopy

Chemphyschem. 2013 Feb 25;14(3):496-9. doi: 10.1002/cphc.201201015. Epub 2013 Jan 4.

Abstract

Which side are you on? Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy is used for the first time to elucidate the coordination and distribution of aluminum in industrial-relevant zeolites at the single-particle level. Extended regions of a few hundred nanometers, rich in higher aluminum coordination environments, are heterogeneously embedded within the zeolite particle, before and after a steaming post-treatment.