Intensities of IR stretching bands as a criterion of polarization and initial chemical activation of adsorbed molecules in acid catalysis. Ethane adsorption and dehydrogenation by zinc ions in ZnZSM-5 zeolite.

A DRIFT study of ethane adsorbed by zinc cations in ZnZSM-5 prepared by chemical reaction of the hydrogen form of the zeolite with zinc vapor at 770 K, or by wet ion exchange, reveals unusual spectra of adsorbed C2H6 species. In addition to the weakly perturbed narrow bands in the region of C-H stretching vibrations, these spectra exhibit a very intense broad IR band with a frequency that is more than 200 cm(-1) lower than those of the C-H stretching vibrations of gaseous or physically adsorbed ethane. The very high relative intensity of this band indicates a very strong polarizability of the corresponding vibrational mode. It is concluded that these strongly polarized vibrations are closely connected with the subsequent heterolytic dissociation of ethane at moderately elevated temperatures, resulting in the formation of acidic hydroxyl groups and zinc ethyl fragments. At higher temperatures, the zinc ethyl fragments decomposed, resulting in the formation of zinc hydrides and ethylene. The unusual DRIFT spectrum of the molecular form of ethane adsorption by zinc cations represents a first example of anisotropy of polarizability of adsorbed molecules, which may provide a new explanation for selectivity of the acid-catalyzed reactions. In this connection, it is suggested to use the relative intensities of IR bands of adsorbed molecules as a reactivity index that is directly connected with chemical activation of adsorbed molecules via their polarization by the active sites.