Hollow Beta Zeolite Single Crystals for the Design of Selective Catalysts.

We present a Pt@Beta catalyst with a unique, well-controlled location of metal nanoparticles that allows more efficient use of this rare, expensive metal in catalysis. The zeolite crystal has an inner cavity, leaving a thin zeolite shell where the metal nanoparticles are encapsulated, thereby ensuring a relatively small diffusional path length and high selectivity. Hollow Beta is obtained by a controlled dissolution–recrystallization method. The location of the particles not only was revealed by electron tomography 3D reconstruction but was further confirmed by a model hydrogenation reaction of aromatics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]