title: Single-site trinuclear copper oxygen clusters in mordenite for selective conversion of methane to methanol.
abstract: Copper-exchanged zeolites with mordenite structure mimic the nuclearity and reactivity of active sites in particulate methane monooxygenase, which are enzymes able to selectively oxidize methane to methanol. Here we show that the mordenite micropores provide a perfect confined environment for the highly selective stabilization of trinuclear copper-oxo clusters that exhibit a high reactivity towards activation of carbon-hydrogen bonds in methane and its subsequent transformation to methanol. The similarity with the enzymatic systems is also implied from the similarity of the reversible rearrangements of the trinuclear clusters occurring during the selective transformations of methane along the reaction path towards methanol, in both the enzyme system and copper-exchanged mordenite.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Catalysis Research Center, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, Garching 85748, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grundner
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Catalysis Research Center, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, Garching 85748, Germany.
authors.forename: Monica A C
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Markovits
authors.affiliation: Schuit Institute of Catalysis, Inorganic Materials Chemistry Group, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, Eindhoven 5600 MB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Guanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Van't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 94215, Amsterdam 1090GE, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Moniek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tromp
authors.affiliation: 1] Schuit Institute of Catalysis, Inorganic Materials Chemistry Group, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, Eindhoven 5600 MB, The Netherlands [2] Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, Eindhoven 5600 MB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Evgeny A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Pidko
authors.affiliation: Schuit Institute of Catalysis, Inorganic Materials Chemistry Group, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, Eindhoven 5600 MB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Emiel J M
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Hensen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Catalysis Research Center, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, Garching 85748, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jentys
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Catalysis Research Center, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, Garching 85748, Germany.
authors.forename: Maricruz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Sanchez
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Chemistry and Catalysis Research Center, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, Garching 85748, Germany [2] Institute for Integrated Catalysis, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
authors.forename: Johannes A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lercher