Producing aromatics directly from the smallest hydrocarbon building block, methane, is attractive because it could help satisfy increasing demand for aromatics while filling the gap created by decreased production from naphtha crackers. The system that catalyzes the direct methane dehydroaromatization (MDA) best so far is Mo supported on zeolite. Mo has shown to outperform other transition metals (TMs). Here we attempt to explain the superiority of Mo by directly comparing Fe and Mo supported on HZSM-5 zeolite. To determine the most important parameters responsible for the superior performance of Mo, detailed characterization using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) techniques combined with catalytic testing and theoretical calculations are performed. The higher abundance of mono- A nd dimeric sites for the Mo system, their ease of carburization in methane, as well as intrinsically lower activation energy barriers of breaking the methane C-H bond over Mo explain the better catalytic performance. In addition, a pretreatment in CO is presented to more easily carburize Fe and thereby improve its catalytic performance.

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The active sites on the methane dehydroaromatization (MDA) catalyst Mo/HZSM-5 are very hard to characterize, because they are present in various geometries and sizes and only form under reaction conditions with methane at 700 °C. To address these issues an experimental strategy is presented that enables distinguishing different active sites for MDA present on Mo/HZSM-5 and helps determining the Mo charge, nuclearity and chemical composition. This approach combines a CO pretreatment to separate the active Mo site formation from coke formation, quasi-in situ spectroscopic observations using DNP, ¹³C NMR, CO IR and theory. This allows the discrimination between three different types of active sites. Distinct spectroscopic features were observed corresponding to two types of mono- or dimeric Mo (oxy-)carbide sites as well as a third site assigned to Mo₂C nanoparticles on the outer surface of the zeolite. Their formal Mo oxidation state was found to be between 4+ and 6+. Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) measurements of samples carburized in CO as well as in CH₄ confirm the assignment and also show that accumulated aromatic carbon covers the bigger Mo nanoparticles on the outer surface of the zeolite, causing deactivation. It was previously observed that after an initial period where no desired products are formed yet, benzene starts slowly forming until reaching its maximum productivity. Direct observation of the active site with ¹³C NMR confirmed that Mo-sites do not transform further once benzene starts forming, meaning that they are fully activated during the period where no desired products are observed yet. Therefore the slow increase of the benzene formation rate cannot be attributed to a further transformation of Mo sites.

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Mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles with atomically dispersed iron sites (named mesoNC-Fe) are synthesized via high-temperature pyrolysis of an Fe containing ZIF-8 MOF. Hydrolysis of tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) in the MOF framework prior to pyrolysis plays an essential role in maintaining a high surface area during the formation of the carbon structure, impeding the formation of iron (oxide) nanoparticles. To gain inside on the nature of the resulting atomically dispersed Fe moieties, HERFD-XANES, EXAFS and valence-to-core X-ray emission spectroscopies have been used. The experimental spectra (both XAS and XES) combined with theoretical calculations suggest that iron has a coordination sphere including a porphyrinic environment and OH/H₂O moieties responsible for the high activity in CO₂ electroreduction. DFT calculations demonstrate that CO formation is favored in these structures because the free energy barriers of *COOH formation are decreased and the adsorption of *H is impeded. The combination of such a unique coordination environment with a high surface area in the carbon structure of mesoNC-Fe makes more active sites accessible during catalysis and promotes CO₂ electroreduction.

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The mechanism of methane activation on Mo/HZSM-5 is not yet fully understood, despite the great interest in methane dehydroaromatization (MDA) to replace aromatics production in oil refineries. It is difficult to assess the exact nature of the active site due to fast coking. By pre-carburizing Mo/HZSM-5 with carbon monoxide (CO), the MDA active site formation was isolated from coke formation. With this a clear 13C NMR signal solely from the active site and not obscured by coke was obtained, and it revealed two types of likely molecular Mo (oxy-)carbidic species in addition to the β-Mo2C nanoparticles often mentioned in the literature. Furthermore, separating the active site formation from coking by pre-carburization helped us examine how methane is activated on the catalytic site by carrying out MDA using isotopically labelled methane (13CH4). Carbon originating from the pre-formed carbide was incorporated into the main products of the reaction, ethylene and benzene, demonstrating the dynamic behavior of the (oxy-)carbidic active sites.@en