In situ filming of reactions inside individual zeolite crystals using fluorescence microscopy

In situ characterization techniques directly relate the physicochemical properties of a catalyst to its catalytic activity, allowing a more rational catalyst design. As a result of the sensitivity and inherent limitations of each spectroscopic approach, several problems are still unaccounted for (e.g. pressure gap, materials gap and phase gap). These shortcomings can be solved by applying new spectroscopic techniques. Here fluorescence microscopy is used to directly monitor chemical reactions inside zeolite crystals. This technique images the catalytic activity with a high spatiotemporal resolution and sensitivity and thus allows locating the active zones throughout an individual catalyst crystal.